So on Friday, Australia got awarded the XXXL gurnsey for being the fattest nation! That's right cobbers, we have apparently passed America! It got me thinking, as I munched on a burger, which I didn't even have to get out of my car to buy, "how the hell, with all the scientific studies, education, psychiatrists, 'be active' programs etc etc etc, are we still getting fatter!?" Ok, so I am the first to admit that I am a big sturdy girl, but it seems that despite the nation constantly being on a diet or an exercise regime, we are still letting our belts out, notch by notch! Here is my take on why it's happening. I'd be interested to hear/read any comments that people might have about it.
It seems every day we are given a new piece of information about how certain foods and drinks effect our body. I have seen, owned and read mountains of books on different eating plans. One said you should never combine proteins and carbs.....see ya later meat and potatoes! Another said that eating anything but fruit before lunch would cause fermentation to occur in your stomach, they also said to avoid yellow cheese.....
Dark chocolate is good for blood pressure.....but it is full of sugar and will increase the risk of diabetes
Cheese is full of protein and calcium....but it will throw your cholesterol sky high
Coffee is supposed to boost the metabolism......but it will also make you a jittery idiot
Red wine is excellent for your heart and is full of anti oxidants.....but two standard alcoholic drinks 3 times a week increases the risk of breast cancer in women
And since when are carbohydrates the devil incarnate?
.....and on and on it goes!
People hailed the arrival of the CSIRO diet! Eat an entire cow before lunch time and look like Claudia Schiffer! Most people I know who followed that eating plan enjoyed the food, but spent 3 times as much at the supermarket and spent so much more time preparing food.
Exercise has suffered a similar fate. One day we are told to get out heart rate up, sweat, go red, work hard and get lots of cardio to burn fat. Then we are told to ease up on the cardio and pump iron instead because muscle burns fat!
What used to be common sense is now a science, shrouded in mystery. People are sick to death of the chopping and changing advice, so they are giving up and eating junk because it is easier than weighing and measuring the correct ratio of carbs to protein and calories from fat etc etc!
I started talking about this whole thing with Andy last night as we tucked into a hearty meal of meat and 3 veg + potato. He said, as he often does "I was listening to Dr Karl the other day...." (this is usually followed by a pearl of wisdom) "...and he was talking about healthy diets. He said that a healthy diet should consist of lots of greens....and a bit of meat." Good, sensible, easy to follow advice! It worked for years, so why aren't we doing it anymore?
Nutrition scientists, stop trying to confuse us tubby little mortals! Put your test tube away, go for a brisk walk and tuck into some lean steak and veggies!
1 comment:
As you asked for comments I will health fag it up.
I agree with the genius (Dr. Karl, not Andy :P) it's all about balance. Eat as much unprocessed foods as you can, do both cardio and resistance exercise. Eat a bit of chocolate, but not too much. Drink a glass of wine, but not too much. Indulge in some cheese, but not too much. Eat when you're hungry - not when a diet plan tells you to. Sleep when you're tired. Drink when you're thirsty. A lot of people spend to much time working out the best kind of bridge to engineer over the river without realising it's shallow enough to just wade to the other side.
Also, you can read whatever you want from statistics to come up with a conclusion about the fattest nation.
The highest percentage of adults > 25 BMI doesn't equal group of adults with the highest average BMI, for example.
Post a Comment