Diet Practices from Around the World

Did you know that Americans rank #1 in being the most obese people in the world? What does this mean?

This basically means that overall, we, Americans, are not eating healthy and we do not have good overall eating habits compared to those in other countries. What other factors are helping us as a country to stay number one as the most obese people in the world?:

• We are over consuming. Think about all the large portions that are available to us from gigantic drinks to meals with a calorie count that can equal what we should consume in a day.

• We can get a lot of our food for an inexpensive price, especially fast food. This makes it readily available to most of us.

• We snack constantly. Sometimes we consume more in the way of calories during our snacks than we do our actual meals.

• We eat everywhere. We eat on the go. We eat at our desks. We eat in front of the television set and even eat in our automobiles.

• We live a sedentary lifestyle. We are allowing technology to keep us from moving as much as we should. We don't work as hard as we once did.

Add all of this together over time and you get a country that is obese.

What are other countries doing that we aren't? Consider these countries and their overall relationship with food.

France:

The French people are known to be thin, even though they ate many foods that are made from rich creams. How do they do it?

First, they believe in moderation. This being said, no food is really off limit to them. They eat what they want, they just eat in moderation.

They also:

• Don't believe in snacking. Most French people will tell you that they stick to three structured meals a day.

• They eat on small plates. This helps them limit their portion control.

• They don't believe in skipping meals.

• They take the time to enjoy the foods that they do eat.

Italy

The Italians believe that the practice of eating is also a social activity. They also believe that one should not rush when eating. A meal may take for hours, but they know how to enjoy it.

They also believe:

• That you should not multi-task when it comes to eating. You don't work and eat. You don't watch television and eat. The only thing you should do while eating is eating

• You eat with others. You can and should enjoy the company of others while eating. Eating is a big social activity in Italy and the socializing can take longer than the actual activity of eating.

• They understand the art of enjoying a glass of wine. The wine is considered part of the meal and part of the socializing.

• They don't believe in mindless eating.

• They enjoy foods made from simple ingredients.

Greece:

When you think of Greece you may think of the Mediterranean Diet.

The people from Greece enjoy foods with color. They also:

• Enjoy foods that contain unsaturated fats such as nuts and olive oils.

• They enjoy cooking with yogurt

• They enjoy brightly colored vegetables

Japan:

The Japanese can proudly say that they have a low estimated rate of obesity in their country: two percent. One reason is that many of their residents eat a large amount of fish on a regular basis, something most Americans need to add to their diets. They also:

• Eat with chopsticks. This practice helps them to eat slower and more relaxing meals.

• Many of their meals will begin with soups

• They drink a lot of green tea

• They generally will not eat until they are completely full. They will stop when they feel they have reached about 80% fullness.

As you can see the people from these countries can teach Americans a lot when it comes to the normal every day eating. If many more of us would practice these styles of eating, we would begin to slowly lose weight and become healthier in the process.

Sources:

http://www.todayshow.com