WEIGHT PROBLEMS: ARE WE REALLY EATING TOO MUCH?

Obesity can be caused by an excessive calorific intake and also by insufficient energy expenditure. In all probability, the majority of people who are of excessive weight are overweight because of a combination of both factors. Given the rapid escalation in obesity levels, one must draw the conclusion that we are eating in excess of our daily requirement, in other words we have a regular positive energy balance equation. Although this might be because we are eating too much, some studies have suggested that total calorific intake has actually decreased over the past few decades.

However, these earlier studies calculated food intake by monitoring foodstuffs consumed within the home, and failed to count that consumed at work, as take-away food, as sugary drinks and as alcohol. The last 30 years have seen a tremendous increase in the consumption of alcohol, particularly in the developed world, and fast food has become a normal and accepted part of our society. Very often, the high-fat, high-sugar foods provided from take-away outlets are regarded not as a main meal but as a 'snack', even though they might contain as many as 1200 kcal per 'meal' - in other words, half of an adult's daily energy requirements.

Although the total energy consumed remains unclear, what is clear is the increased consumption of empty calories,-including sweets, chocolates, potato crisps and biscuits, all of which can be associated with the increase in obesity seen over the past 30 years. High-fat, high-sugar foods are generally inexpensive, very accessible and promoted very heavily. In the 1970s, McDonalds was opening a new outlet somewhere in the world every 3 hours!

*4/312/5*