TAXING JUNK FOOD CAN ALSO HELP CURB OBESITY

CHEAP OBESITY STEPS COULD HAVE MAJOR
HEALTH IMPACT IN EMERGING ECONOMIES

LONDON (Reuters) - Taxing junk food, limiting food adverts and making labels clearer could be the best way to curb rising obesity levels in countries like India and China, where increasing prosperity is creating ever heavier consumers. The average annual cost of tackling obesity with these measures could be less than $1 per head, and global experts said in a study on Thursday that emerging economies should take immediate action to reverse rising obesity rates before the problem reaches levels seen in the industrialized world. Researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) studied possible strategies to combat obesity in six emerging economies and also in England. “A multiple intervention strategy would achieve substantially larger health gains than individual programs, with better cost-effectiveness,” said Michele Cecchini, an OECD health policy analyst and one of the authors of the study.

They found that combining prevention steps into a co-ordinated strategy would have a significant health impact. The study, published in the Lancet, found unhealthy diets and a lack of physical inactivity were pushing obesity rates in these seven nations rapidly toward the average of all OECD nations, where half of the population is already overweight and one in six people is obese.
The OECD said a combined strategy on preventing obesity could cost less than a dollar per person and would pay for itself - through reduced health care costs - in half the countries surveyed, and would become cost-effective in the others within 15 years.


According to the study, 7 in 10 Mexican adults are overweight or obese, nearly half of all Brazilians, Russians and South Africans are overweight, whereas China and India are rapidly moving in the same wrong direction. In accordance with Ayurveda, all diseases have their origin in gastro-intestinal tract where undigested, raw material called “ama” is allowed to accumulate leading to an increase of toxins. Thus, Ayurveda recommends us to fill the stomach one-third full with food, one-third full with water, and one-third full with air (or empty). If one overeats, the stomach will expand and want extra food and this causes the stomach to expand more and more.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

We should eat and drink with discipline, moderation and regularity, because our vitality and strength do not depend on the amount of food we eat, but on what our body can digest and assimilate. The stomach needs space to work, only to be filled two thirds of its capacity, leaving the remaining third for air. This is very helpful to the mechanism of digestion. ... We must acquire the habit of eating slowly, savoring more each bite, a healthy instinct which announces when we’re satisfied. ... Another powerful reason why food must be digested slowly is that the organs of the body that are suitable to absorb the pranic value of fruits and vegetables, are the palate and tongue, otherwise, they will inevitably be lost. Eating in moderation will also satisfy and refresh the mind, and it provides a real harmony to your body. If you overeat, your body gets overloaded, it is shaken, tired, and ultimately it dulls your mind.

Yoga Inbound :
“Health Inbound” - “Nutrition Inbound”
“The Art of Eating - Eat In Moderation”
Radha Charan d.d. - info@yogainbound.org
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/salud-inbound
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/salud-inbound/21-nutricion-inbound/47-el-arte-de-alimentarse