Bye, Bye Mediterranean
The so-called “Mediterranean Diet” has become famous for its healthful qualities, but The New York Times reports that it’s rapidly disappearing from the actual lifestyles of people in Mediterranean countries, as Greeks start adopting more-and-more of an American-style unhealthy diet.
As an American, I suppose it’s somewhat comforting to learn that our bad habits seem to have a quasi-universal gravitational pull and we’re not just a uniquely cursed nation. Conversely, the news that the state of public health in the developed world is likely to deteriorate is pretty disturbing. Figuring out how to make better public health policies in terms of diet and exercise choices — measures that will help/encourage people to eat better and exercise more without unduly burdening individual choice is going to be key to determining our future quality of life.
25 Responses to “Bye, Bye Mediterranean”
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September 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Mmmm… pizza…
September 24th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
It’s disturbing to see hot shot Wall Street analysts recommend purchase of McDonald’s shares because of “growth in Asia.”
September 24th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Mmmmmm – growth in Asia
September 24th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Too bad nobody worried about “unduly burdening individual choice” when the international agricultural-industrial complex was being put in place…
September 24th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Of course American style eating is going to be popular. American food, especially fast food and prepackaged food items satisfy to excess all of our primordial needs: fat, salt and sweetness. Add the fact that is is cheap and you get mass adoption.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I always thought a good idea for a sci-fi novel would be someone going to like 2300 AD and seeing how grotesquely fat everyone is
September 24th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Don’t worry about the Asians getting fat. Everywhere McDonalds does well, American cigarettes do even better.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I think convenience has more to do with it than taste, because American style commodity food is full of the former and lacking in the latter
September 24th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I always thought a good idea for a sci-fi novel would be someone going to like 2300 AD and seeing how grotesquely fat everyone is
Yeah, dude! And there could be this robot that goes around cleaning up Earth because humans abandoned it when it got too trashed…
September 24th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Who would have thought that salt, fat and sugar would be appealing?
September 24th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
When I was in Italy a few months ago, the most popular pizza among Italian teenagers was “pizza con patatine e wurstel,” which is basically pizza with french fries and sliced hot dogs as the main topping. I kid you not.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Look, at least we are not the _fattest_ country in the world. I believe Nauru and Samoa have us beat, and Kuwait is inching up there as well.
America is still less fat than Samoa, less violent than Brazil, and less wasteful than the United Arab Emirates. Truly, we have a lot to be proud of.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
JonP,
That pizza reminds me of that Canadian dish, I forget the name, which is cheese fries with mayonnaise and bacon gravy, or something like that. Given that I don’t like either cheese, fries, or pizza, I don’t really see the appeal, but I suppose tastes vary.
It’s amazing that Canadians (and Scandinaivians) can eat such an unhealthy diet yet they still live so long and Canadian/Scandinavian women are so attractive. One of life’s oddities, I guess.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Canadians are all ugly and fat, except for the few making movies in Vancouver and Toronto. They are West Virginians with funny accents.
And it is poutine, by the way.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Charlie,
I beg to differ- I know quite a few very hot Canadian women. I suppose that the cold climate keeps their metabolism in high gear, or whatever.
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