Taking Charge of our Health

During my winter sojourn in Thailand I became sadly aware of how grossly overweight, not to say obese, many Westerners are as they flaunt their ugly flesh to the hot Thailand sun. It was a gross reminder of how greedy and irresponsible we have become and of how little self-respect so many of us have. Why are we so unwise? A recent article in The Guardian pointed out how cases of cancer are set to rise in epidemic proportions in the next few years as obesity turns to disease. And there is not only cancer: there is heart disease and diabetes, too. What are we doing to ourselves and, worse still, what are we doing to our children? A doctor told me three years ago how he had treated two young children in a week for the first signs of diabetes. And, of course, they were both overweight.

Another article recently told of how fast food outlets and processed food manufacturers are using MSG and its derivatives and that these ingredients act not only as flavour enhancers but also cultivate addiction to these unnourishing, useless foods. Like drugs and cigarettes, so many foods are undermining our health. Not only that, but the illness being caused by obesity and unhealthy foods is costing the taxpayer millions, if not billions, of pounds and this will rise dramatically as the incidence of cancer, diabetes and heart disease rise over the next few years.

What is being done about it? Not much, it seems. Many people are quite patently incapable of disciplining themselves to exercise and to eat sensibly, even though advice is forever being given out. Sometimes our self-destructing human species behave like sheep, yet sheep have farmers to feed them food that nourishes them while we have governments who do nothing of real value to curb the stupid habits of those who are incapable of living their lives wisely. Why cannot government monitor fast food outlets and processed food manufacturers for suitable ingedients and ban such harmful substances as MSG? Why can they not be more highly taxed to help pay for the ever-increasing demand for expensive treatments of such conditions as cancer, heart disease and diabetes which are set to rise? And, why cannot we, the people, get a grip of ourselves and take more responsibility for our health? With the recession, we are now living in straitened times and more and more people are resorting to cheap, unwholesome food in an effort to cut costs, not thinking that if they get ill their costs will go up extravagantly to pay for their recovery. Somehow we need to be cajoled and frightened into giving up our greed and our physical and mental flabbiness and take charge of our lives. The most important thing we can spend money on is our health and the health of our children. The reward will be freedom from the suffering and horrifying costs that emanate from a life-threatening disease. In other words, it is worth doing. But it requires a massive act of will on behalf of both government and people. We have too much freedom and too much choice and maybe a little bit has got to be taken away, right now, for our own good.