Alimentación salud y cultura - SANHISO C. International health and ...

AlimentAción, sAlud y culturA: encuentros interdisciplinAres
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This relatively recent change in diet for many populations globally
is at odds with the diet which our bodies have adapted to process.
Considering obesity from an evolutionary perspective helps to explain
the way the human body processes and copes with excess calories,
by taking into account the environment in which Homo sapiens
evolved and adapted. In the environment of evolutionary adaptedness
it was advantageous for Homo sapiens to have a thrifty genotype/
phenotype, in order to protect against times of scarcity. The ability
to store excess energy during periods of ‘feasting’ served as an effective
form of insurance, to support and maintain the body during
times of ‘famine’ and thus ensure survival during seasonal change and
resource scarcity (Ulijaszek and Lofink, 2006). This tendency to store
fat has now become maladaptive as we inhabit a food-secure environment
in which individuals consume more and expend less energy
than ever before. An imbalance between energy intake and energy
expenditure can result in high levels of insulin resistance, hypertension,
cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, infertility,
pre-eclampsia and many other related non-communicable diseases
characteristic of Western populations (Levy, 2000 & Scrimshaw &
Dietz, 1995). Rising levels of disposable income have been shown
to correlate with obesity levels, as a result of the associated lifestyle
changes (Zimmet, 2000) and excess weight has been shown to be the
cause of more illnesses than any other medical condition (Levy, 2000).
An example of a transitioning population are the people of many
South Asian countries, who are now suffering from chronic disease
epidemics that have occurred concurrently with a modernization in
lifestyle associated with gloabilsation, a process labelled by Arthur
Koestler as ‘Coca-colonization’ (Zimmet, 2000). As a result of new
found wealth and increased food availability South Asians are now
consuming significantly greater quantities of food, particularly meat,
which appears to be having a marked effect upon the health of the
population (Irwin, 2000). Early life environments are argued to have
a significant impact upon health in later life and it has been shown
that transitioning populations in particular are more susceptible to
diseases as adults, particularly obesity, due to a mismatch between
predicted and actual environments (Bogin et alii, 2007).
Portion size is an area which has received much attention in the
USA and Lisa Young and Marion Nestle were some of the first re-