Calories, Calories, and More Calories

More and more people are becoming overweight. This problem does not only exist in developed countries such as the United States; the developing countries, while battling poverty and disease, also fight against calories. As developing countries prosper, its citizens do less physical activities and consume more oil and sugar. For example, traditionally Chinese people drink tea and water. But in the 21st century, more and more Chinese people, especially children, drink Pepsi and other soft drinks. 10 years back, only the relatively well-to-do can drink soft drinks on regular bases. Now, Wal-marts and other super markets sell Coke and Pepsi at more affordable prices. From my personal experiences in China, diet soft drinks are sold at a higher price than regular soft drinks; consequently less Chinese drink diet drinks. Other junk food and fast food restaurants also contribute to fattening China. Another big “criminal” the article talks about is oil. Oil is much cheaper than it used to be in China. People who are my grandparents’ and parents’ age still remember clearly the days when there’s a limit on how many cups of oil a family can buy in a month. So many people do not want to waste the oil that comes out of meat when you cook it. For example, my grandparents (both have diabetes and high blood pressure) refuse to waste any food including big pieces of fat on meat. Wasting anything is considered a very bad habit in China.
Obesity in China is also more severe in children than in adults. In China where competition for jobs and higher level education are intense, more focus is put on studying then on physical activities. Parents will do everything in their power to increase the studying hour. Parents may try to “bribe” young kids into studying by buying them chocolate, computer games, KFC, or Cola. Or drive high school students to school (instead of letting them ride the bus or bike) so they can get an extra 30min of nap in the car. Parents will do all the chores and physical labor so children can maximize their study time. Of course, many children sit in front of the TV instead of playing basket ball even when they have time.
I think education and raising awareness are solutions to almost all problems. Kids and parents need to be educated about eating healthy and living healthy. As the harmful side of eating junk food and decreasing exercise become more apparent to average citizens, people will begin to think and modify their behaviors. But we can not afford to wait till then, so increasing awareness before it’s too late is the most important thing. Also like the article mentioned, taxes on sweets and oils are pretty good ideas. If diet coke costs less than regular cokes, I’m sure some people will buy diet drinks instead of regular soft drinks.