Thinness is the dynamism of young executives, the will of beautiful firm and tanned girls. Demand, self-control are the panacea ofslender and toned people. The obese are the opposite of these notions and have an image of disabled people in their personal and social lives.
Thus stigmatized, these people are reduced to a single and shameful label: I am a “fat”. The obese is rejected, penalized, pointed out. And even more so if she is female. To get out of the vicious circle, the great reinforcements of advertisements, health messages, diets are no longer enough. What are the realistic and respectful solutions?
One in ten people is affected by obesity
All countries are affected by this scourge. Society must adapt to the new standards imposed by obesity, which is costly to social security. The health and public authorities can no longer do anything and the situation is alarming. Only the associative fabric remains active in this area and the WHO has been launching SOS for several years now.
In the 80s, in Europe, overweight peopletripled. In the USA, a third of people have a BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 30, the threshold for obesity (you alsotake the test of your BMI on this page). In developing countries, the westernization of the lifestyle is accelerating and more than 50% of the obese in the world live in China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia…
Always more adaptability for the biggest of us
Thus, manufacturers seize the windfall and develop the market for obese people.
To do this, they are expanding each of the market segments related to overweight, such as seats and seats in land or air transport companies such as buses and planes as well as those in World Cup stadiums. Similarly, in the medical field with imaging devices that are designed more spacious, wheelchairs with wide seats, lifts fixed in ceilings to make it easier to transfer some patients with overweight, extra-large blood pressure measurement armbands … In crash tests too, the environment adapts better and better for the dummies in car prototypes. This is not surprising since this commercial target is beginning to weigh heavily: more than 670 million people in the world are overweight.
And nothing that suggests a possible reversal
Governmentsare trying to reverse the trendbecause this scourge is so prevalent that the bill becomes considerable. In the United States alone, the cost amounts to almost 200 billion dollars per year (see our article on this subject) and an increase of more than 3.5% is announced each year for the next fifteen years. These are very varied fields that are affected such as health care, food, pharmaceuticals or specific equipment.
Currently, fast food chains in the “fast-food” style are always full. It is even created all over the world: in India, where 4/5th of the population does not consume beef, the “Chicken Maharaja Mac” replaces the traditional “Big Mac” and nearly a thousand Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hutwill open by 2015.
Remember that obesity affects half a billion people over the age of twenty in the world and that by 2025 this number will have more than doubled. Admittedly, this chronic disease has stabilized well between 2002 and 2007 but its prevalence is again on the rise, especially among 15/24 year olds. It is, more than ever, necessary to awaken consciences.
