Increasing Waist Line = Increasing Economic Well Being?

[NALs]

Through the years many DR1ers have noticed the increasing waist lines among Dominicans, especially Dominican women, when a couple of decades ago almost everyone was physically fit. Apparently the DR is not alone in this trend and increasing economic well being seems to be the reason.

People are getting fatter around the world. And the problem is growing most rapidly in developing countries, researchers reported Friday.

"Over the last 30 years, the number of people who are overweight and obese in the developing world has tripled," says Steve Wiggins, of the Overseas Development Institute in London.

"As countries go from being low-income to middle-income, and heading towards high-income, people earn more [money], and they can eat the foods that they find tasty," says Wiggins, who co-authored the report.
Many foods people find tasty are also often the most fattening. Globalization has made high-calorie snack foods readily available at low cost almost everywhere.

Reversing this global trend, he says, could be accomplished with small changes to people's diets. In particular, public health campaigns could encourage families to substitute fruits and vegetables for high-calorie snacks.

But, the report concludes, there's been little political will in developing nations — where workers are finally enjoying a bit of disposable income — to tell people what they should or shouldn't be eating.

Overweight People In Developing World Outnumber Those In Rich Countries : Shots - Health News : NPR

If the correlation between economic well being and increasing waist lines holds true, then if the DR continues its trend, as shown in the following graph, it might become one of the fattest countries in the region and in the entire developing world.

Link to the graph​

The somewhat bright side is that the DR is currently going through a gym boom and while for now these are merely socializing places, more people are taking seriously the role of exercise in their lives.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

This is not to be blamed on the Piggley Wiggeley, which operated for generations when even Southern Americans were slimmer. I would say that the increased consumption of refrescos made with corn syrup sweeteners is a major factor.

 

[Criss Colon]

Another who thinks that "High Fructose Corn Sweetners" are worse than Cane sugars, sugar beet sugars, honey, you name it!
People are FAT, because they consume more calories than the burn!
Just ask ME,...I'm a Professional!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

 

[jbars]

Another who thinks that "High Fructose Corn Sweetners" are worse than Cane sugars, sugar beet sugars, honey, you name it!
People are FAT, because they consume more calories than the burn!
Just ask ME,...I'm a Professional!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

And they are consuming more calories because they are consuming more junk. The food is loaded with garbage and preservatives. It's not just a matter of consuming more food.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Calories from corn sweeteners tends to stay with one longer: they are "junk" food. You are right, of course, more calories means more weight gain. Junk food is cheaper than fresh food (like fruit and vegetables), so people eat more of it.

 

[kampinge]

Calories from corn sweeteners tends to stay with one longer: they are "junk" food. You are right, of course, more calories means more weight gain. Junk food is cheaper than fresh food (like fruit and vegetables), so people eat more of it.

Its not about the price of fruit. Fruits and vegetables are cheap in DR. Its all about any kind of sweeteners and white foods like bread, rice and pasta. People love that kind of junk prefabricate stuff because they are used to it. Add the soda and anybody will develop diabetes for sure. Its kills more people than all the other drugs together, but it is big money in it, and beside the same people who produce that stuff produce drugs against diabetic to be sure they always have consumer for their products

 

[dv8]

when you are shopping next time look at the cart of your average dominican: oil, salt and sugar. and look how the basic food is prepared: the chicken is fried, salami and cheese as well; oil is added to rice and to pasta; sugar is added to all drinks, from natural juices to batidas. i don't blame soda or fast foods, most dominicans cannot afford those on daily basis. they eat the same meals every day, full of carbs. i have see people eat moro or locrio with pasta and plantains as one meal. meat is expensive, rice, pasta and viveros are cheap and filling.

when i go out i prefer to have coca cola rather than sugar laced "natural" juice. i don't eat dominican sweets because they are nauseously sweet to the point where i need to spit out a bite i took.

and, as i said before many times: everyone eats the same, both rich and poor. that's because the one cooking in a house of los ricos is a poor dominicana. the only difference is that those better off will eat more and more often. but they eat exactly the same meals.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

I think that arroz con gandules has been a major part of the diet in the DR for centuries. The issue is not the poor diet, but how changes in that diet recently (soince the 1980's, I would say) have made people fatter.

Papitas and other types of snack foods may not be eaten as often as in the US, but judging from the snack food bags littering the streets, people are certainly eating a lot of them. Sugar has always been a major part of the diet. Corn syrup sweeteners are what make junk food, junky.

It is also true that junk food is less messy to eat. One can down a bag of chicarrones and there is no clean up. But eating a mango without washing up afterwards is pretty much impossible.

 

[Chirimoya]

Fizzy drinks are much cheaper than no sugar added fruit juice.

 

[PeterInBrat]

It all goes back to Earl *Rusty* Butz in the Nixon administration and Norman Borlaugh in the 60s and 70s.

 

[keepcoming]

Take a look at the lifestyle these days. Eating, drinking all while sitting texting on the good old blackberry (or i-phone ). And for kids it can be worse. Being allowed to eat all the "junk food" and then sitting all day playing video games. The diet has been the same for years here but the lifestyle has changed. Over the Holiday I watched the extended family eat and drink themselves silly all while sitting texting all day. Other than the occasional trip to the bathroom everyone just sat there. I must be honest, I did the same thing minus the texting. Just sat there. CC had it correct more calories consumed and less worked off.

 

[Bronxboy]

I heard that for every happy marriage a 5lb increase is the norm!!

So, if you are happily married for 10 years, the average weight gain is 50 pounds!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahaha

Stay single!

 

[suarezn]

The report is absolutely right. With increasing wealth comes the ability to buy comforts including a vehicle (Even if it is a passola) that significantly cuts down in the amount of exercise a person gets. In addition things that in the past were "luxuries" become accessible and consumed more often.

Example when I was growing up sodas were luxuries that you'd have when people came to visit or such occasions, Ice cream? Forget about that. Fast food was orejitas de puerco con tostones, etc. Yes we ate food that wasn't that healthy per se, but I was active all the time, had to walk everywhere, etc. I didn't watch what I ate back then and didn't have a clue what MSG was (a la contango), yet I never put on any weight. Actually I was always being told how I was too skinny, etc...

I can see this in my own family. You can see that the part of my family that's better off (Those of us who live in The US, the ones who live in Santo Domingo, etc) are struggling to maintain a healthy weight. Those who are "poor" (although they get enough to eat, but are not splurging on fast food and don't own a vehicle) are a lot healthier than us.

 

[CaptnGlenn]

calories are calories... neither I nor your body cares what form they take. Corn syrup, cane sugar, oil, lard, high tech energy bars, whatever ... with reference strictly to weight gain / loss, doesn't matter one bit. it's a VERY simple equation. (just as CCCCC said, and I've been saying through all my ups and downs of weight gain and loss my whole life)... calories in vs. calories out --- simple as that!!!. There are other health issues for sure... but strictly weight??? You can chug a bottle of Kayro every day of your life, but if you're running 20 miles every day too, you won't gain an ounce or a gram. And conversely, if you sit around on YOUR "lard" all day, all you have to do is LOOK at a Hershey bar and you need a new (bigger) belt.

THE PROBLEM is that people don't know where the calories are "hiding" in their food. It's amazing to discover just how many calories are in the seemingly most innocent foods. And sorry to burst your bubble, Xavior... High F Corn Syrup doesn't "hang around" any longer than any other calories. Some foods take A LITTLE longer to digest.. but the difference is inconsequential and has no bearing on "storage" (i.e. fat).

 

[Frank the Tank]

Weight gain is simple. Calories in > Calories out. But also people are less physically active then in the past. Less walking, more driving/riding. Less manual labor, more sitting at desks.

 

[PeterInBrat]

It's more garbage in, garbage out..

Amazing 'Human Fly' Lives Off Diet Of Garbage | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

 

[dv8]

THE PROBLEM is that people don't know where the calories are "hiding" in their food.

a while ago i read several articles from eat this not that. one of the text was a simple "diet" where all drinks were replaced by water and/or sugarless tea/coffee. just this step can save you hundreds of calories per day. the basis was simple: that we look at what we eat but not at what we drink. and it's not even about soda but also about juices, sugar and milk in tea/coffee, alcohol.

most people also do not pay attention to the fact there is sugar/salt/fat, sometimes in large quantities, in our daily food. one of the examples is bread with one slice packing about 100 calories. i started making bread without any sugar or fat and only a teaspoon of salt but how many people have time and ability to bake, or even cook dishes from scratch?

 

[PeterInBrat]

I met a guy last spring who had lost close to 100 pounds in two years by replacing soda with flavored seltzer. He lost it slowly enough where he didn't get the sagging skin. Diet sodas don't work because the sweet taste fools your body into making insulin when it shouldn't. Every 100 calories a day is 10 pounds a year.

I've been taking a break from drinking so much beer and junk food and I'm dropping a couple pounds a week. It adds up.

As for baking from scratch, that's how I put on some extra pounds.

 

[PaGuyinDr]

Just spent 10 days in the dr for vacay. I basically ate a little bread and cheese for breakfast with my coffee each day, some fruits for lunch... A lot of coconut water and natural oj during throuout the day, went out to dinner almost every night, and drank more then my share of presidentes and 2 fifths of don Barcelo anejo. And Did absolutely nothing but hang out. Lost 6 pounds. Please explain....

 

[Mauricio]

My wife eats very healthy and exercises. I don't do any exercise and eat any fried stuff I want, drink coke every day. She's the one fighting to have her belly under control, I have no problem at all. A lot has to do with metabolism I guess.