We Are the World

"We are the world;
We'll feed your children;
They'll be obese and die an early death;
So let's start eating..."

Sorry, but this story making the rounds caught my eye. For so long, Japan has been held up to Americans as having a "desirable" diet--based heavily on rice and vegetables with small amounts of meat.

Now, apparently, Japanese teens and households with two working parents are going the fast food route--namely, American fast food like McDonald's, KFC and Taco Bell.

The result is predictable: a fast-rising number of overweight and morbidly obese people of all ages. Morbid obesity, as recently as 10 years ago, was virtually unheard-of in Japan--unless, of course, you were a Sumo wrestler.

The guy quoted in the story above has an interesting take on the whole thing, though. I tend to look at the immediate and not at the trend--that we're a fast food nation, but not why. His take on it is that as the nuclear family has changed with both parents working outside the home and kids on a fast track of activities, then it's a natural result that quick, processed foods are taking a bigger role in the diet.

It's going to take a sea change in the way we look at "fast food" to change this tidal wave.