Food Matters (More than Ever!)

17 Jul 2014

Tags: bootcamp brisbane, bootcamp melbourne, bootcamp sydney, health, nutrition,

Last week I stumbled across a blog post by Food Matters that blew me away. If you care about your health and haven’t heard of the Food matters site or videos I strongly suggest you check them out

This particular post is based on the US; however, I would hazard a guess that we in Australia, mirror a very similar pattern as is the case with many health related issues in the industrialized world.

There are 3 main maps that highlight the staggering growth in Obesity rates from 1985 to 2010.

Unfortunately the first map has many gaps in the data but the following 2 maps really highlight a huge shift in the wrong direction. I’ve selected 3 places that have data in all 3 maps that have increased dramatically over the 25 years.

Illinois and Idaho both started with an obesity rate of <10% of their population in 1985, Up to 19% in 1995 with a huge jump up to 29% in 2010. Similarly was the state of Tennessee, starting at <10%, Moving up to 19% then jumping up to the highest bracket of >30% of its population living with Obesity.

More shockingly was the map at the bottom of the blog, showing us the map lit up with every MacDonald’s ‘restaurant’ across the country. There is no surprise that the East Coast of the country that seems to be illuminated by the most Maccas lights has also grown in size by the largest proportions over the last quarter of a century.

In my opinion this is not to say that MacDonald’s is to blame (in its entirety) however it tells a sad story that something universal has changed in in our lives and attitudes towards our diet and lifestyles.

We’ve heard so much about how we’re experiencing an obesity epidemic in both adults and children, we’ve heard so much about other health implications as a result of this and we seem to know what causes it and how to eat healthier but how do we globally start to make a difference in this health crisis?

Unfortunately, the companies that are creating this problem in the first place, heavily fund many of the messages our government sells us. Therefore I don’t believe the solution is going to come from any great political changes. Therefore, more than ever before, it is up to us as individuals to take control of our own choices, empower ourselves with the knowledge and re-organize our lives in order to prioritize sourcing, buying and cooking with fresh produce.

Even more importantly I believe it is imperative that we arm our children and grand children with the understanding of what healthy food REALLY is, why it is important that we choose to eat healthy food, how to be critical consumers and most importantly how to prepare and cook real food, OTHERWISE, I hate to see what the 2025 map will look like!

Written by

Brooke Ferguson