Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

162 SESSION III
According to the United Nations estimates, almost all
of the world’s population growth from 2000 to 2030
will be concentrated in urban areas of developing
countries, where, if the present trend continues, it is
expected that 60% of the developing countries will be
urban by 2030. At the same time it is projected that
income per person in developing countries will grow
at an annual rate of 3.4% from 2006 to 2015, which is
twice that, was registered in the 1990’s (1.7%).
The growing of cities and rising income in developing
countries will lead to significant changes in the lifestyles
of the population. The most immediate changes will
be the food supply and eating habits of the
burgeoning inhabitants of the rapidly expanding urban
areas. The average calorie intake, type of foods
consumed and food availability will determine the
kind of food habits that are going to be the new norms
of eating. Normally as total calorie increased, the
proportion of calories derived from fat and oils, meat,
sugar and wheat products will also increase.
Consumer preference of particular foods will be linked
to income and purchasing power. However, the power
of advertising will also be an important factor in food
selection and consumption in urban areas. The converging
of diets towards less variety but more towards common
food items can lead to dietary convergence and dietary
adaptation. Dietary convergence refers to increasing
similarity in diets worldwide, characterized by a greater
reliance on a narrow base of staple grains (wheat and
rice), increased consumption of meat, dairy products,
edible oil, salt, sugar, and lower intake of dietary fiber.
Whereas, dietary adaptation reflects the rapid pace and
time, and pressures of urban lifestyle households where
both parents often commute long distance and work
long hours, consumers eat more meals outside the home
and purchase more brand-name processed foods.
Changes in dietary pattern, coupled with sedentary
living style give rise to a new problem of overweight and
obesity. It is also the result of increase consumption of
energy-dense foods and lack of physical activities. Thus,
despite the presence of widespread undernutrition, the
world is also experiencing the rise in prevalence of
obesity. The developing countries are experiencing what
is known as the “nutrition transition”, where when people
became more affluent they abandoned traditional
plant-based diet and began eating more meat, fat and
processed foods, which most often increased the prevalence
of obesity and developed risk factors for chronic diseases.
(Doak et al., 2005; Nestle, 2002; Brody, 2002; Antipatis
and Gill, 2001)
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
Obesity is defined as excess body fat. (Bray, 1979) On
the other hand overweight means the body weight
above ideal weight or standard weight for height. A
person may be overweight but not necessarily overfat,
this is common among athletes or football players.
(Welham, 1942) However, normally a person who
is grossly overweight will most likely be overfat. The
World Health Organization (WHO) defined obesity as
those people with the body mass index (BMI) of equal
of greater than 30, and overweight as those whose BMI
are between 25.0 to 29.9. (WHO, 1995) At the
physiological level obesity can be referred to as a condition
of abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in adipose
tissue to the extent that health may be impaired.
(Antipatis and Gill, 2001)
The normal scientific explanation for obesity has been
the imbalance between energy intake and energy
expenditure. When input is greater than expenditure,
excess fat will accumulate. However, understanding the
physiological basis alone is not adequate, as it can be
seen today that obesity has become a pandemic, there is
a trend towards global obesity or globosity. (Brownell,
2004) In western countries the prevalence of obesity is
beyond control despite the knowledge and researched
the have accumulated. (Spurloch, 2005; Critser, 2003;
Fumento, 1997) Obesity and overweight are complex
biosocial phenomena that are shaped by many factors,
including a variety of social, cultural and economic
influences. (Sobal, 2001) Economic development and
affluence have altered the consumption pattern of the
middle class in developing countries. New consumption
pattern consisted of meals and snacks between meals,
where it has led to increase prevalence of snacking during
the day. (Senauer et al., 1991) Globalization of western
food or fast food and drinks has been one of the major
contributing factors to new global consumption pattern
in developing countries, particularly Southeast Asia and
East Asia. (Schlosser, 2002; Nestle, 2002; Critser, 2003;
Kilman and Gracy, 2005)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project attempted to study the relationship
between obesity in relation to globalization of food
consumption that was promoted by transnational
corporations, and at the same time solicits people’s
perception about obesity based on their cultural and
social context. Is globalization a major contributing factor
in the increase prevalence of obesity in Southeast Asia?
How do Southeast Asians reconcile their cultural values
and norms about body weight with the new affluence
and over abundance of ready to eat foods? How
globalization and commodification of food created the