Nothing attracts people more than promos, freebies, and add-ons. Business establishments spend money on research to lure people to choose them over their competitors. That is, for people to buy what they don’t need. This is what powers consumerism and materialism. In terms of food, fanning lust and greed are two things they exploit. Lust for food and greed for more of it.
That is the source of America’s alarming obesity problem. It innocently enough started with offerings of family, super, and giant or grande sizes. We all go for bargains — to get more for less.
When I was first offered this new deal, I was nonplussed. I didn’t know what was being offered, for $0.99 more I could get a bigger size! Then I thought for a second, why would I want a bigger size? So, I declined. Many don’t, however, because why not, they say. Why not indeed when it unwittingly can add a few pounds here and there and before you know the accumulated super sizes has made you a bit chubbier than you would like. And all because you were too weak to say no. Yes, even if you find that you actually toss it out because these super large drinks are mostly filled with ice (another trick of the trade), and you ended up throwing it away as it tasted bland. That is why when I decline ice, or say only a little bit of ice, the server frowns.
This culture of sizing up food and drinks has now trickled down to the younger generation. Thus, obesity now starts from 7-year-olds, and even younger. Due to this widespread problem, the US has more overweight people than ever before. This phenomenon has fueled the need for more business to crop up: bigger-size clothes, weight loss pills, gyms, exercise classes, yoga, up to more drastic measures such as bariatric bypass, stomach stenting and reduction, and whatever else can be invented to avert the dangers of obesity. There is even a TV program called: “My 600-lb life.” I sometimes watch this because show with fascination. It is amazing how a person can become so large, humongous. The show also confirms my suspicion that when you habitually eat more than your actual stomach capacity it stretches the inherent flexible nature of the stomach. Like a rubber band, it changes its size/capacity. Thus, the stomach allows for a much larger capacity. And that is where the problem lies.
Whilst Filipinos rank as one of the more confident, educated (prevalence of English speakers), and good-looking amongst the Asian population, they are also comparatively speaking, the chubbier of them all. This is due to the fact that with the diverse culture Filipinos have been exposed to, comes with a large variety of delicious food. Aside from regular and special Filipino cuisine, there is an abundant choice of Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Asian fusions. Unfortunately, they are mostly to please the palate, and but not necessarily to watch over their health. There is a corner, however, amongst the young ones who are more informed, thanks to the information age, there is a wealth out there of healthier options.
What Filipinos need to understand, and understand now, is they are at the brink of falling into the problems America is now dealing with – big issues with obesity. By unwittingly succumbing to the temptations of the popular unli and overload they could be treading the path leading to serious health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney, and liver failure, etc. Health issues down the road that can markedly shorten their lives. That is, if not depriving them of enjoying the rest of their lives. Is dialysis thrice a week a fun activity?
Everything that spells danger seems to always start innocently and promises fun. Food is one of the most satisfying and gratifying of all activities.
Succumbing to the temptation of food is of course, at first blush, innocent and harmless. We all need food to live. But many are now living to eat. Gorging copious amounts of food because for one price, it is unli and/or overload. One can eat as much as one can (unlimited) and/or everything included in it (overload). Perhaps because of our natural weakness for food that gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. It surely will take you to an early grave.
When things look too good to be true, we have to be careful because there is a possibility of a hidden danger lurking behind it. The problem with our stomach, is once we have stretched it over and over again farther than full capacity, it now craves for more food. Our satiation point goes up and it now cannot be easily satiated. A slim person has a smaller stomach thus, he or she gets full easily. And usually, when they are full, they stop eating. With the temptation of the unli and overload, one just goes eating on and on until one is about to burst! Then, the stomach is now more enlarged and able to take more food and not nearly easily satiated the next time one sits down to eat. The cycle of overeating has thus begun.
Some complain that they have always had a weight problem. A few even claim that their obesity is due to having larger bones. A doctor’s answer to that justification was: “Why, do you have elephant bones?” Barring any psychological and hormonal issues, eating past full capacity could well have started early in life. The baby who is constantly hungry and is fed more often than the normal schedule develops a larger stomach which is not easily filled.
Nowadays, more thoughtful, forward-thinking parents feed their babies and toddlers more substantial and filling foods over junk food. Healthier options such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Food can just be calories, such as sweets (cakes, pastries, sweet breads, rice-based foodstuffs), which are poor choices. Parents have the responsibility in how their kids choose food later on in life. A kid raised eating pizzas, hamburgers, and the like, will grow up as an adult eating those same things that he/she has been accustomed to. It is also conscious eating that can avoid cultivating overweight kids saddled with weight problems later on. I sincerely hope more responsible parents increase by the hundreds, even thousands. The future looks brighter when people are healthier.
Believe it or not, the palm of your hand, not both palms, is the measuring cup of how much one should eat. We leave room for water. However, we definitely eat more than just a palm of our hand, and therein lies why more and more Filipinos are now obese, especially with the arrival of unli and overload!
Discipline is key. If you look upon your health as your responsibility, you will be more aware of what you put in your mouth. It is sad to see people’s lives in peril simply because they as a rule, overate. The amount of food we eat today could come at a very high price tomorrow.
As I always say, “If you don’t take care of yourself, who will?”
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