Overweight and Malnourished?
The United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition announced last week that it was expanding its view of malnutrition.
The U.N. panel concluded that “the overweight are just as malnourished as the starving, and nutritional programs in poor countries need to target rising obesity alongside hunger,” according to a Yahoo news report. It appears that even some in poor countries are eating the wrong foods, contributing to rising world obesity rates. Fast food, sedentary lifestyles, and population movement to cities were identified as contributing factors. Food quality, rather than food quantity is being targeted as the focus of malnutrition.
What a sad commentary on the state of nutrition in general. We are SO far from feeding our bodies the way God intended! I concur that the obese can be malnourished. And I appreciate that the U.N. officials are trying to heighten awareness of obesity as a serious concern, but it almost seems unfair to divert the focus from hunger. It’s theoretically not the fault of the hungry, while the factors listed above (contributing to obesity) are often a matter of choice.
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