Asians Weigh In

MOST Asians are now living lives our grandparents wanted. Infant and maternal mortality rates have fallen significantly in many countries; life expectancy is higher than it has ever been in history and poverty and malnutrition rates are gradually declining (albeit at a rate slower than most policy makers would like). With so much good news, why then are health professionals concerned? Health-wise, economic development has come to Asia as a double-edged sword. Economic prosperity has reduced the number of malnourished and hungry people. On the other hand, economic and technological development, focused mainly in the larger cities, has attracted people living in the rural countryside to the urban centres. Whilst city-living provides better educational and employment opportunities, it also takes away many aspects of the traditional lifestyle that health professionals now realise were actually rather healthful, e.g. lots of physical activity and diets based on less energy-dense foods.

We are indulging more often with feasts that might have come far and few between in our grandparents' time

Studies have suggested that environmental cues to eat (sight, smell and advertisements for food) play a role in whetting our appetite, even when we are full. To compound the problem, most of the foods we gravitate to are high in fats, sugars or refined carbohydrates. The ready availability of food at reasonable prices has placed environmental cues that encourage us to eat - cues that our grandparents were not subject to. For example, walk along any street in Asia and billboards, restaurants and street food sellers offering everything from fast food to snacks and desserts that tempt even the most strong-willed would bombard you. Technology has also given us timesaving appliances that take aware the ardour of many household chores. What used to take hours of manual labour is now carried out by washing machines or vacuum cleaners. Greater income also enables us to indulge more in the Asian tradition of celebration with food. With more disposable income, we reward ourselves regularly with feasts that might have been annual events in our grandparents' time. Whilst no sector of society started out with an agenda of increasing overweight and obesity rates, our shifting lifestyles and diet choices have gradually allowed overweight and obesity to creep up on us. Weighing in the choices We do know a great deal about what constitutes a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet does not mean total exclusion of any food group or food type from your diet. Instead of labelling foods as "good" or "bad," nutritionists most commonly advise there is a place for all foods in a healthy diet, provided some basic diet and lifestyle guidelines are used in shaping individual choices: the great variety of food in the urban, modern world actually provides unprecedented opportunities to achieve a healthy diet with wide variety of foods. However, this expanded choice available to so many of the current generations must be balanced by the principle of "everything in moderation", to avoid the pitfalls of excess consumption of specific foods, food groups or nutrients. Global trade has increased the variety of fruits and vegetables available in the supermarket aisle. Even traditional wet markets now stock produce from the four corners of the earth, giving us a greater selection of healthy greens and fruits to choose from. Food processing not only brings convenience to the consumer, but has resulted in the development of new products with health benefits; for example, products made with whole grains and therefore high in dietary fibre: Today's consumer may choose to eat less starch staples such as cassava, brown rice, yams than grandparents did, but can enjoy substitutes such as whole wheat bread; whole grain cereals, pasta anVapormax