"The World is Fat"

When I read Barry Popkin’s article in the August 2007 edition of Scientific American, I thought, “This is exactly what I want to talk to my students about.” Isn’t it interesting that when the global standard of living increases, many of the problems associated with consumerism manifest them selves?

Several key statistics and anecdotes jump out at me from this article, but who would have thought that over nutrition would out pace under nutrition (or famine) in the course of 15 to 20 years?

As part of your weekly posts, feel free to comment on this article and tell me if you think Popkin’s thesis is correct, or if you think it is all over blown. If you need a prompt, consider any of these three questions:

1) How do international trends in overweight and obesity mirror US obesity trends? Cite three examples and use evidence to back up your claims.

2) Should obesity even be considered a US problem that has spread to the world or should it be considered an international problem? If so, who is to blame?

3) How does the nutritional transition (shift from under nutrition to over nutrition) affect a nation’s ability to continue developing? (How do you think the problem of overweight/obesity affects a countries ability to prosper in the 21st Century?)

Scientific American has lots of digital content, and this article has an associated podcast with the author. Take listen if you’ve got the time.