Simple Tips to avoid obesity

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.” – Voltaire 

 Some Simple Tips for you to enjoy fast foods without compromising on health.

 Do’s  

1. Do indulge in your liking for fast foods but once a month is a reasonable way of indulging in eating unhealthy food and still staying healthy.  

2. Do eat regular meals so that you don’t feel hungry and feeling like literally stuffing yourself with a pizza or a large sized burger.

3. When you visit a branded fast food joint do look up their website and see the nutrient content of the foods you wish to order.

4. Do teach yourself, your children and your peers and neighbours the importance of good nutrition habits before it gets too late and very difficult to undo the harm of your unhealthy eating habits.

5. If you eat fresh and healthy foods ninety percent and fast foods ten percent of the week you will be able to balance your diet and not be nutritionally deficient.

 Dont’s  An English Proverb says: “He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.”  

1. Do not forbid your family members from eating fast foods as this might have a more adverse effect than a good one. Just limit the consumption.

2. Do not over order as generally portion sizes of fast foods are larger than normal portion sizes.

3. Do not make eating out a common part of your monthly schedule. It is better if you consider it a once a month treat.

4. Do not use the convenience and ease of ordering etc as an excuse to stop preparing home cooked and nutritious meal however tired you may be. Make home cooked food a pleasant activity by involving all family members so cooking becomes more of a pleasure than a chore.

Enjoy your food but don’t forget “you eat to live and not live to eat.”

Fast food and Youth

The Fast Food culture is synonymous with youth today. As with all the major technological revolutions fast foods are the impact of the twenty first century.

Indian fast foods as some foods like samosas (stuffed deep fried Indian snack), chaats (a variety of snacks made using potatoes, yogurt, puffed rice, fruits and vegetables), etc existed from time immemorial. They were not definitely as easily available then as they are now. The so called western fast foods like pizzas, burgers, soft drinks etc are more the products of this century. However the eating habits of the earlier generations in India were healthier although this may be difficult to prove statistically.

As far as the younger generation is concerned there has been an important study on the eating habits of Indian youth with all its pitfalls. Although more research is needed on this current and topical eating pattern of today that is fast foods and Indian youth one definite study has helped to partly map the fast food consumption in Indian youth.

According to a survey the on eating pattern of teenage youth it was noted that the samosa was the most commonly consumed fast food, followed closely by chaat. Despite a deluge of advertisements by pizza manufacturers and corporate sponsored fast foods the Indian samosa came up as the top rated fast food of the youth today.

It is heartening to note that most of the youth know that these fast foods were not healthy foods. They also said that they consumed these foods as a change from routine foods. A few of them had a favourable attitude towards their regular consumption but most of them knew them to be nutritionally less favourable than many other foods. The consumption of fast foods was found to be comparable among all the socio economic groups surveyed.

If the children and youth are educated about food choices they can improve their eating patterns wherever they may choose to eat. By banning particular restaurants or specific foods you may forcibly achieve temporary results but may not actually influence the eating habits of youth.

Although major multinational companies spend a fortune in advertising trends indicate that the impact of the so called western fast foods is not so much that education can reverse some of the “unhealthy eating habits”. However the soft drinks market is very successful comparatively due to the high impact of advertising especially by many youth icons including film stars and famous sports personalities. This may become an alarming problem of the twentieth first century in India as more and more children and youth prefer their colas or orange or lemon based fizzy drinks when compared to healthier alternatives like potable water or fresh fruit juices. This leads to a consumption of “empty calories” obtained from sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Nutritive Value of Fast Foods

“The journey of a thousand pounds begins with a single burger.” Chris O’ Brien. 

All foods provide nutrients to the body. Fast foods contain more fat, carbohydrate and sugars and less of protein, vitamins and minerals compared to most other foods. Those who consume fast foods consume more fat, carbohydrate and sugars and less fruits and non starch vegetables compared to those who do not consume or consume less fast foods. They also consume a higher number of calories when compared to the non fast food lovers. Fast foods may be nutritious as the term fast food can include any food mass produced in a short while. However most fast foods are actually low in nutrients and do not provide sufficient vital nutrients essential for good health.

Fast foods are also high in “trans” fat or the bad fat. These fats are used in fast foods as they provide a lot of convenience factors despite their poor quality of fat. Due to their fat content most fast foods have a satiety value that is rather high. They give you a feeling of fullness. The fat content also adds to the taste as one of the properties of fat is to enhance the inherent flavour of the food to which it is added. But these foods are very calorie dense. They give you a lot of calories some of these calories are important to provide energy as fuel for all the cells of the body to function optimally. However excess calories consumed are stored as adipose tissue (fat) in the body. Fat works as an insulator and store of energy, but excess fat is stored in the body mainly as abdominal fat. This abdominal fat is a major factor in causing diabetes. 

The portion size in fast foods is also generally larger than that of normal portions. This leads to a greater consumption of less essential nutrients and inversely a lesser consumption of the more essential but less available vitamins and minerals.

Professor Andrew Prentice of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said:

“We all possess a weak innate ability to recognise foods with a high energy density.”   

Fast foods are very energy dense foods and since we are unable to limit portion sizes of the fast food we tend to consume excess calories which get deposited as fat in the body. They tend to compromise the daily diet as they replace healthy and nutrient rich food with filling and energy dense foods. Fast foods are also generally high in salt content and low in fibre content. An excess of salt is still considered as one of the leading causes of high blood pressure. The lack of fibre in the diet is always associated with gastro intestinal problems.

Unfortunately obesity is increasing in the urban population in India mainly due to faulty food habits and a sedentary lifestyle. The rural population may not be obese but they have their own health conditions to deal with. Agricultural trends also seem to be bowing down to the needs of commerce and eating trends.

It is an unfortunate agricultural fact that although cereal production is soaring in the country the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and legumes is steadily decreasing. The eating habits of Indians have changed so drastically that the consumption of fruit and vegetable today is even less than half the recommended consumption of 400 grams per day.  

It is very important that we increase our consumption of healthy foods to stay fit and exercise regularly to increase the benefits we get from our healthy diet. All the nutrition information about fast foods is present on various websites including some official websites of fast food chains. It is a good idea to read that website once in a while at least and decrease your consumption of fast foods.

It may be difficult for you to totally stop the consume fast foods especially if it has become a habit but you can definitely make sensible choices. You can decrease your consumption of unhealthy but what you consider tasty food to a minimum. You can make healthy food choices of fresh fruits and vegetables along with the calorie laden fats foods.

Fast Foods and Obesity

“The more you eat the less flavor; the less you eat the more flavor” – Chinese proverb. 

Fast Food outlets are busy places and people are eating more and more of fast foods when compared to healthy and nutritious foods.

Today Fast Food Outlets are a common sight not only in the metros but also in the smaller satellite towns. Not even a couple of decades ago McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut were outlets Indians visited as a novelty when they got a chance to travel, study or live abroad. Today every urban city in India and even smaller towns seem to have its ubiquitous fast food outlet. These outlets seem to be generally thronging with customers and have replaced many indigenous and healthy Indian foods. 

Indian food is generally high in calories but is nutritious. Today more and more Indians are eating out and the consumption of fast foods has increased tremendously. Snacking is  becoming an integral part of the norm rather than proper healthy delicious home cooked food. Fast Food is often ordered from takeaways and there is often a compromise in health for the sake of convenience and supposed modern trends.

Many school children especially in cities and most often in Delhi no longer carry lunch boxes. They buy fast foods, snacks and bottles or cans of fizzy high calorie low nutrient drinks in the form of colas and lemonades.

Another important trend which is leading to burgeoning rates of obesity in our country is the growth of the Information Technology IT and Business Process Outsourcing BPO industry. These workers generally work long hours, have a sedentary life style and eat the largest amount of the so called “junk food.” They also have higher disposable incomes and consuming these “in foods” like pizzas, burgers, fried chicken, fizzy drinks and colas seem to make them feel in with the crowd. This unfortunate aping of western culture is very disheartening. This is especially ironic since those who consume “fast foods” like burgers, pizzas, hot dogs and cokes in the West do so since these foods are convenient, cheap and very filling due to larger portion sizes.

In America obesity has reached gigantic proportions. A Television journalist has said: “Believe it or not Americans eat 75 acres of pizza a day.” In his hard hitting book Eric Schlosser describes America as “an empire of fat.” This shocking and startling book has raised a higher level of awareness about obesity in America. It has lead to congressional lobbying and the opening of health food stores and neighbourhood delis.

Unfortunately the opposite is happening in India with the disappearance of the neighbourhood store and the rising of the supermarket culture with easily accessible processed foods and fast foods. Processed fast foods are convenient and really help in preventing losses of highly perishable agricultural produce. Overdependence on them should not become the cause of less fresh and healthy foods in the diet.