Global Initiative for Nutrition & Health Awareness

 

      Disease outbreaks such as Zika and Ebola deservingly receive attention from the media, general public, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Coordinated efforts to curb diseases such as malaria, TB, etc. have taken center stage for decades.  However, over the past 3-4 decades, the diabetes and obesity epidemic is slowly and silently unfolding around the world, threatening nearly half its population. Developing nations that were for the longest time focusing on combating infectious or communicable diseases now bear the burden of dealing with diabetes and obesity. Interestingly, infectious disease is no longer the leading cause of mortality in these developing nations.

 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) "nearly 300 million people worldwide are obese and another 750 million are overweight . The health repercussions of the obesity epidemic are staggering. There is an alarming increase in the incidence of  diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, certain cancers, and other obesity-related morbidities worldwide."

 

     At the center of this obesity and metabolic syndrome crisis is the alarming rise of fast food restaurants in the US, and all over the world. Over the last 10 to 15 years, people in countries like India, Brazil, and China (which account for more than 35% of the world's population) have enjoyed the benefits of economic growth, allowing them to spend more. Unfortunately, there has been a simultaneous increase in the number of multinational fast food restaurants in these countries as well. The triad of economic growth, the rapid expansion of fast food and soft drinks, and the lack of education and awareness about their health implications has set this health crisis in motion.