Dans le monde: Plus de gros que d'affamés

[Animal 0]

Aug 15, 2006

There are now more overweight people across the world than hungry ones,
according to experts.

US professor Barry Popkin said all countries - both rich and poor - had failed
to address the obesity boom.

He told the International Association of Agricultural Economists the number of
overweight people had topped 1bn, compared with 800m undernourished.

Speaking at an Australian conference, he said changing diets and people doing
less physical exercise was the cause.

Professor Popkin, from the University of North Carolina, said that the change
had happened quickly as obesity was rapidly spreading, while hunger was slowly
declining among the world's 6.5bn population.


The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia with certain populations
more susceptible than others
Professor Tony Barnett, of Birmingham University

He told the conference at the Gold Coast convention centre near Brisbane:
"Obesity is the norm globally and under nutrition, while still important in a
few countries and in targeted populations in many others, is no longer the
dominant disease."

He said the "burden of obesity", with its related illnesses, was also shifting
from the rich to the poor, not only in urban but in rural areas around the
world.

China typified the changes, with a major shift in diet from cereals to animal
products and vegetable oils accompanied by a decline in physical work, more
motorised transport and more television viewing, he added.

And he urged governments to begin to develop better strategies to combat the
problem.

He said food prices could be used to manipulate people's diets and tilt them
towards healthier options.

"For instance, if we charge money for every calorie of soft drink and fruit
drink that was consumed, people would consume less of it. "If we subsidise fruit
and vegetable production, people would consume more of it and we would have a
healthier diet."

And University of Minnesota's Professor Benjamin Senauer, who has compared
lifestyles in the US, which has high obesity rates with Japan, which has low
rates, agreed.

"The average Japanese household spends almost a quarter of its income on food
compared to under 14% in the US."

'Cheap food'

While a direct tax on food in the US to reduce obesity would not be politically
acceptable, agricultural subsidies which resulted in cheap food could be
reduced, he added.

But he said other factors, such as exercise, also played an important role.

"Japanese cities are based on efficient public transport and walking. The
average American commutes to work, drives to the supermarket and does as little
walking as possible."

Professor Tony Barnett, head of the diabetes and obesity group at Birmingham
University, said: "It is becoming increasingly clear that the number of
overweight outnumbers the malnourished.

"What is also clear is that this is not just happening in developed countries,
the developing world also has serious problems.

"The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia with certain populations
more susceptible than others. If we do not get to grips with this, problems
associated with obesity, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are going
to increase rapidly."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4793455.stm

[animo-aequoanimo 0]

Citation :

"For instance, if we charge money for every calorie of soft drink and fruit drink that was consumed, people would consume less of it. "If we subsidise fruit and vegetable production, people would consume more of it and we would have a healthier diet."

Ce n'est pas une mauvaise idée mais il resterait quand même tous ces McDo et cie qui vendraient leur scrap à bas prix.