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FATNESS
Let's blame McDonald's
Do you realise McDonald's represents less than 1% for the cause of
overweight?
In fact the fast-food industry is a minute portion of the reason why 60%
of the population are overweight, obese or morbid.
The main reason is the cost of food and its general abundance.
If you go back 50 years, the number of shops selling take-away food was
limited to fish-and chips.
If you go back 100 years the only shops were 3 course restaurants.
But most people could not eat fish and chips more than a few times each
week due to the fatty content and minimal taste sensation.
Sandwiches and pies came in but these were limited to industrial workers
non their lunch break.
Then the PIZZA arrived, but its cost relegated it to a "treat" once a
week.
About the same time McDonalds arrived and this changed the whole scene
by offering a hamburger for 99 cents. Over a billion hamburgers were
sold in the next 20 years.
But when you compared the cost of the burgers, to the hourly wage and
the number of customers, the extra calorie intake was very small.
If you really want to compare apples with apples, a McDonald's hamburger
prepared at home will contain more fat, staler meat and older frozen
chips.
The thing that has led to weight-gain for the population is the gradual
reduction in exercise and physical work, drinking fizzy drinks and the
lowering of cost for burgers, fries, pizza and chips.
Gradually, a take-away has replaced a home-prepared meal to the extent
that many are eating more than 14 take-away meals each week.
In general, a take-away meal has a higher calorie content than a
home-prepared meal because it contain more variety and is laced with
sugars, fats and oils.
As a person gains weight, his/her physical exercise decreases and the
two combine to raise the weight.
Very few people understand the concept of the energy content of a
calorie. In fact a calorie is 1,000 REAL calories and a 300 calorie
milkshake will allow you to walk more than 10km.
A can of Coke contains 140 calories and Diet Coke is 90 calories.
But its not only the calorie content but the reaction of the sugar on
your body.
It's the "hit" or "buzz" or feeling of pleasure that is produced by
sweeteners. This is a false stimulant and, in fact, produces lethargy as
the body needs to send blood to the stomach to digest the food and this
reduces the blood supply to the brain. For children, the effect is
absolutely identical to an adult drinking alcohol. Both sugars
have to be processed in the same way by the liver.
So, who do we blame?
You could equate overweight proportionally to all the suppliers of "bulk
food", (that has little or no nutritional content).
This includes all the take-away establishments, fizzy drink suppliers,
bread and cake producers, packaged foods, chips and spreads.
Out of this, McDonalds would supply about 1% of the total content.
But that's only part of the problem.
You have to factor-in the low-cost of food (compared to 50 or 100 years
ago).
You have to factor-in the abundance of shops, supermarkets, shopping
malls and delivery services.
And you have to factor-in GLUTTONY.
People eat more because they don't have to bend over to carry out a
task. Less physical movement is needed and more FAT people can be
employed in an industry.
When you take all these things into account, McDonalds contributes only
a fraction of 1% to the scale of things.
So, get your priorities in order and don't get carried away by the
uninformed majority.
Eating is not a "FREE FOR ALL."
Just like you keep track of your spending each week, you have keep track
of your eating each day.
If you don't, you are a FOOL.
You have to have some idea of the calorie content of food and your
needed daily intake.
If you haven't studied these two, you are an idiot.
You only have yourself to blame for being over or under the accepted
weight. And everyone knows the accepted size and weight for every type
of person.
But it's not only being the right weight; it's eating a small amount of
many different foods including the least quantities of pre-prepared food
- fatty foods, sugars, sweets and including fruit, grains cereals, nuts
and bread containing fibre that is not hidden in a soft, mushy, dough.
There is a scale of +10 to -10. Water is
neutral.
A McDonald's hamburger is +5 because it contains meat, low sugars and
fats.
Chips are +1 due to the potato content, but high fat content for the
amount of potato.
Fruit and vegetables are +10 when RAW. Their content reduces to +3 when
cooked due to the vitamins and enzymes being destroyed by heating.
Lollies and sweets are -10 because they contribute NO benefit other than
calories and these calories place a very heavy burden on the system.
Likewise, alcohol is -10 due to the damaging effect that comes with the
high calorie content.
These are the things you have to be aware of when calculating your
intake. It is not just calories alone but a knowledge of the food-value
(the worthwhile content) of the food you are eating that needs to be
taken into account.
Overweight doesn't "hit you in the face one day." It creeps up over a
period of 10 years.
And for every added kilo, it is going to take DOUBLE THE EFFORT to
remove each kilo.
That's because by simply eating slightly less will MAINTAIN your weight.
You have to reduce your intake by TWICE the expected amount to lose
weight.
That's why it is so hard to do.
However, that's another chapter. |