The idea of healthy food instead of dieting has been duly noted as a weapon in the arsenal to overcome issues with staying trim and fit. It has yet to take serious hold. I believe that it is only a matter of time as concerns about global, rapidly growing rates of obesity especially among children, are a relatively new thing in the world.

Why is obesity on the rise globally, especially among children?

Although the USA is widely claimed to be the birthplace of the “fast-food” industry it has not taken long to send its tentacles out into most of the developed nations. In the same manner the rise in obesity has followed in the footsteps of this trail.

The convenience offered by grabbing something to eat at a multitude of outlets is not only attractive, but pervasive. If that is not enough, the industry drives sales knowing that cooking foods in oil draws out the flavor. Just think of the almost addictive quality of well prepared French Fries. Hence, there has been an enormous increase in the consumption of fatty foods.

Another angle on the battle of the bulge comes with the incredible success of advertizing, which seems to always promote bigger is better. The sizes of the pop cups in the bulk of the bigger outlets have reached daunting proportions. So much so, that the increase in sugar intake is competing with that of fat!

Why do I say it is only a matter of time before the idea of healthy food instead of dieting takes hold?

Grant it there have always been overweight, even obese people as far back as we can see. History shows us though, that the recent epidemic incidence of this problem has not been around long. It rather suspiciously has not been around any longer than the booming fast food industry. Prior to this onslaught the problem of being overweight only affected a relatively small minority of the population.

There has been a similar rise in marketers attempting to leverage this problem through products and plans, loosely grouped under the diet industry. Problem is that the majority of them are not effective in bringing lasting relief. In the words of Abe Lincoln “…but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

People generally “get it” sooner or later. The value in today’s world of “what did the ancients do?” has been largely diminished. With the unprecedented rise in the global problem of obesity, more and more are looking for new or alternative answers to the problem. Given the many intelligent people seeking solutions, it cannot take long to realize the solution lies in the history prior to the growth of the problem.

I submit that this will inexorably lead to people adopting healthy food instead of dieting. A massive move away from healthy food is, after all, at the root of the problem.

To summarize:

• Although growing globally and among children, the epidemic problems with obesity are relatively new.

• This burgeoning problem correlates very well with the worldwide growth of the fast-food industry.

• The massive “diet industry” masked as a sub-set of the general health industry has leveraged this problem without providing a visible, lasting solution.

• When people wake up to all of this they will naturally return to healthy foods and the problem will dissipate.