It used to be that differences in obesity rates worldwide were explained by diet: the French ate rich food, but in smaller portions; the Japanese ate lots of white rice, but didn't eat much meat; etc.

That has been found to not hold up over time and so people seemed to explain it by culture: The US was fatter, because we sit in cars all day; in most other countries you have to walk considerable distance every day, even to use transit.

Now that, too, seems to be failing the data, as other countries become fatter without any notable shift in how they get around town.

It may be time we studied to what degree the worldwide spread of obesity maps to the worldwide spread of industrial food products.

Could it be the 'lag' between obesity becoming a problem in the US vs the rest of the world was nothing more than initial cultural resistance to processed food wearing down over time?

The question of how an individual can lose weight is pretty well understood (if difficult for many to practice).

The more interesting question is what enables entire cultures to surrender their previous generation's habits seemingly en masse.

Exercise will speed-up weight loss if paired with a diet, and it's just plain healthy, regardless of weight issues.

But if the goal is to lose weight, exercise alone can be counterproductive, because leads people to think that slacking off in the gym for half an hour will offset that supersize menu that they will eat afterwards...

Changing (permanently) eating habits should be the first step and the final goal.

Exercise and eating less is a valid response to the growing weight issue but it all stems from education and an understanding of how being overweight will impact your life and, more importantly, your family's life.

By education I don't mean college level stuff, I mean basic home skills and life skills education and instilling an understanding that fast food/sweets/crisps etc are fine in small amounts but that decent fruit, veg and fresh meat are the staple to a healthy life. Again, this doesn't need to be super complex, there isn't some sexy problem to be solved here, it is just basic, old fashioned food understanding etc. Think Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution type thing.

Also, this is something where governments also need to step up and educate. Free market ethos is fine but preemptive measures don't sell or make money for business so the governments need to fill this gap.

Am I the only one who thought this post was all fluff?

"I believe that the solution to this problem is exercise, and those who would like to decrease their weight should try different sport activities."

What about eating healthier? That strikes me as a more effective and maintainable solution.

>Chinese people are now so addicted to sugar

This is supposed to be a list of "facts" but in reality, the "sugar is addictive" hypothesis is still, well, a hypothesis.

>that the government is scared that there will be political unrest if the price of sugar goes up

It's the Chinese government. "Scared that there will be political unrest if X" is their default state for any untested X.

I think combining fairly elementary economics and physics can reveal the cause of obesity epidemics.

Consumers seek to maximize the taste/cost ratio where cost = the monetary cost of food + time to prepare

Sure you can eat healthy for cheap if you're willing to eat things that are not that tasty or if you're willing to spend time learning to prepare foods and then preparing them on a regular basis. I'd really like to see the economics behind that - like most things, stuff produced in mass is "cheaper" than stuff we make ourselves, maybe not in terms of monetary costs, but definitely in terms of labor savings.

The tastiest things tend to pack a big caloric impact, which makes sense from an evolutionary point of view.

Cheaper tasty calories lead to greater caloric intake, which often occurs at the same time an economy is shifting to less labor intensive work. This creates a perfect storm where caloric expenditure is declining at the same time caloric intake is increasing, leading to an obesity epidemic. It's simple physics, conservation of energy/matter. The energy intake of humans increases, but their expenditure declines, the surplus has to go somewhere. That somewhere is our fat stores.

"Overweight people are now a global problem"

My first thought was they are exerting too much pressure on the surface of the world and endangering the integrity of the crust... need to get out more...

I also enjoy cycling and used to cycle-commute. Unfortunately I have now moved to a cold, wet country and work too far from home for it to be practical, and am getting fatter...

I've been a runner for a long time but occasionally I try new forms of exercise / fun. In the not too recent past I joined a rowing club. The dues were cheap and it's a great workout. And I take advantage of hiking if I'm in an area that has mountains.

I was in China for a month. And I had to look extremely hard to find 1 obese person everyday.

Many people are too poor to eat well. When all you can afford is spaghetti and potatoes, you will gain weight and experience suboptimal energy. You'll also be more likely to suffer anxiety, depression and get diabetes.

Believe me, you don't think all that well either - decisions become more emotional than rational - so getting out of the hole gets even harder.

Instead of finger pointing, chastising and instructing, I think more compassion is required when it comes to dealing with the complex issue of obesity.