Doritos, Oreos, Mountain Dew, Taco Bell, Snickers, Pepsi. Let's admit it, the majority of us enjoy occasionally, or frequently, indulging in extra calories in the form of junk foods. I recently read an article, actually, that overeating is now a bigger global issue than a lack of food. The problem is that overeating is an environmental issue as well as a health issue. Food is a limited resource that is often taken for granted in the same way that fossil fuels and water are carelessly used up. A recent post on Treehugger.com shared a video showing how much of certain foods it takes to reach the average recommended amount of 2,000 daily calories. It's a lot less of some foods than you might think.
We all know that binging on junk food is not good for overall health and nutrition purposes. It causes people to be overweight and can lead to different ailments like diabetes and heart disease. The impacts of overeating extends beyond individual health, though. Overeating is considered to be an addictive behavior, joining the ranks of addictions to smoking, shopping, coffee, or any other activity or product. When people overeat all the time, it shows a disregard for the Earth's limited resources. People are only concerned about eating and aren't thinking about the other impacts their actions might be having, such as the exploitation of workers in factories producing these junk foods, or the fact that by eating more than you need, those resources are being diverted from other people who might actually need them. Overeating is really just another aspect of the consumption lifestyle that fuels our culture.
Thanks for sharing this video. I think it was a really good way to show people just how much calories are in junk foods in comparison to others. Not to mention these are just shallow calories that do not provide nutrients the body needs. I really think more people need to realize that calorie counts are not the only thing to consider when deciding what to eat.
ReplyDeleteI think this video was a good representation of the different foods you can eat, and how you can eat a lot more if you choose healthier options.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the video! I think this is a great way to show people how to be more conscious of what we eat. A large contributor to environmental degradation is overconsumption. If we can acquire the knowledge we need to become more connected to our food and bodies, we can thereby become more environmentally conscious.
ReplyDeleteOver eating is simply in perspective to other cultures. I mean if we just ate our portions then we would have no problem. The problem arises when you get a triple whopper with an xl fry and a large drink. But I recently watched a biology video that showed that a person who is obese is more likely to have grandchildren that have diabetes. This is because our genes remember and get passed on and I can go into detail about a lot of technical stuff, but the point is that over eating does not just effect us, but our whole family, past and future.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of calories in some of the things we eat is just plain gross. Even worse? The average of 2,000 calories shouldn't be applied to everyone! It is all dependent on size, age and weight. For example, I should only be consuming about 1400 calories a day. If I ate a 2000 calorie diet for a week, I would actually gain weight or have to work out harder and longer.
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