Congratulations China as you officially become the fattest country in the world. How could this happen? I'm American and I'm used to seeing obese people walking down the street in their small shirt with their flabby belly's dangling beneath, but not China. To be completely honest, I don't want to see this health problem in China either. Its such a beautiful place that shouldn't be filled with ugly people. To be honest, I'm not surprised. I could see this coming a million miles away after arriving here back in 2002. I used to teach kids at New Oriental School in Wuhan and saw the problem clearly right away after a few months working there. Now keep in mind I worked in the kids department there for over 3 years and taught anywhere between 2 and 3 thousand students. I saw all kinds. Thin. Cute. Annoying. Retarded. Even fat. My god, did I see some EXTREMELY fat kids at that school.
During a two hour class, students would get a ten minute break. No sooner did the bell ring did all these screaming 'Little Emperors' rush to the snack shop and buy sodas, ice creams, potato chips, and other unhealthy snacks. I can remember teaching a Kindergarten level one time and a boy was drinking a chocolate flavored coffee and eating an ice cream--and he was 5 years old!!!
New's flash people--children should not be drinking coffee for two reasons. One, it gives them so much energy that they can't sit down for a single solitary second without screaming their stupid heads off. Secondly, probably most importantly too, it stuns growth. If you want your kid to be tall and level headed--LAY OFF THE COFFEE!
Back to the main point about China becoming the fattest nation in the world. Now before you say I'm lying or start demanding my head on a silver platter...this observation about China wasn't created by me or some insane foreign news agency. The news was released by China's own national department called, and I kid you not, the Chinese National Task Force on Childhood Obesity. According to numbers reported by China's own government and report by the UN and the WHO (World Health Organization), there are currently 200 million obese people living in China today. Sadly, more than most of those people are children.
Here are some of the numbers released today by China and their department head Ding Zongyi. According to Chinese experts, obesity has increased in China by 156 percent between 1996 and 2006. The number of overweight kids grew the strongest and most steady as more than 52 percent of Chinese children in 11 major cities are now obese.
In a recent interview with the AFP, Ding Zongyi said: "This rate of increase has gone out of control." The main problem, as pointed out by Chinese health officials is that the obesity rate has exceeded economic growth. That shouldn't be surprising, as Dng will explain in a moment, because as our money increases the more laxed our lifestyles become. Poor people walk, ride bikes, take buses--rich people drive cars. Poor people eat a lot of healthy vegetables, little meat, and almost no fatty foods or foreign foods--Chinese rich people over eat, drink way too much, and enjoy the lavish lifestyle of the elite. The fact is, the richer a country, the fatter it's people. Look at America, Britian, and most of Western Europe. Obese people are everywhere! And noe this horrible infliction has come to China.
Ding explains: "When a poor person gets richer, the first thing he does is to get better food. That's a big driver of obesity," said Ding.
The scary part is, according to Chinese health officials, things are just starting and will continue to grow worse of the government doesn't start doing something now. What's interesting, most Chinese health officials are focused on the country side, where most people dont' have enough food, rather than on the big cities where people have too much food. Now that's an interesting situation if you ask me.
So what is causing this problem? Well here are some possible reasons:
1.) One-child policy.
With only one kid, most parents and grandparents tend to reward kids with food. Problem is this food is high in calorie and fat and the poor fat kids don't get to work it off with play--instead sit around all day playing games, watching television, and growing fatter. A lot of parents and grandparents kiss these kids asses constantly, letting them get away with murder before being punished. These little assholes are going to grow into asshole adults who will always be demanding to come first in everything: career, relationships, and in family. What does that mean? For one, an increase in divorce since neither man or woman understand the idealogy of compromise. It will lead to more corruption in big business and on the government level, as they will continue doing whatever it is they want since that's the way its always been. With weight--it will lead to more unhealthy lifestyles choices and an early grave.
2.) Acceptance of Western fast food.
Chinese love it. Don't believe me? Go to any McDonald's or KFC in China and see how busy it is. Those place are swarming with kids and adults alike. The snacks to are extremely popular: cookies, biscuits, chocolate, ice cream, candy bars, etc. It's everywhere! And parents keep giving this crap to their kids even though they look like the kids below. When your five year old kid has bigger tits than a hippo, it's time to put those kids on a diet!
3.) Lack of free time and physical activity.
This is a problem Americans have too. Not the free time issue, but physical activity. Most American schools, like in China, have cut back on PE. According to Chinese Health Officials, Chinese schools now only have 2 hours of physical activity training per week. This is a shame considering how young people's bodies are always growing!
On a side note, with Chinese parents and schools putting more stress on young people with excessive homework during the summer holidays and all the stupid tests...it's no wonder kids in China are starting to look like whales and start going gray by time their in middle school. Give these kids a little freetime to take better care of their bodies, hearts, and minds!
Some other interesting notes posted by the Chinese Health officials are very interesting indeed. For instance, boys are fatter than girls--with 22 percent of boys being overweight compared to 17 percent of girls.
Another problem is linked to our loving grandparents, as Ding explains: "The one-child policy led parents to overprotect their children. The behaviour of grandparents are of special concern -- they tend to overfeed their grandchildren because they think that being fat is a sign of the family's wealth."
Now I love Chinese people, but man, that kid is UGLY!!! Earth to parents of that baby...he's fat. He's super fat. Hell, he might be one of the fattest babies I've ever seen in my life. Hell, he probably ate some other poor family's baby and six dogs, two goats, and all their chickens!
According to the WHO (World Health Organization) another thing changing is food portion. The WHO claims that: "In an agrarian economy, with a limited food supply, the Chinese people historically ate small portions and worked off those calories in the fields. Calorie intake and portion sizes have increased at the same time that the economic system has shifted to more sedentary lifestyles. It is the perfect storm for the obesity crisis."
So let me ask all of you a simple question. What are you going to do about this? Do you guys really want to be known as the fattest country in the world? Do you really want people making fun of you when your walking down the street because your ass takes up it's own seat on a bus or you can't see your eyes because your face is too fat? Do you really want to never see your feet again? I don't think so. So how about we change this before it gets worse!
Educate your kids on how to eat well. Don't let your kids eat and drink whatever the hell they want! And to the parents...lets your kids go out and play some fucking sports once in a while instead of letting them waste away in their rooms studying for stupid tests! My mother used to force me to go out and play when I stayed in my room too long playing computer games or watching too much television. Is it so hard for you guys to do the same? Come on China (this includes you fat ass Americans too) let's beat this problem!
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