It's positive people having strong views on diet, sustainable agriculture and diseases. Phrases though like "is Mother Nature a psychopath?" (like the one tweeted yesterday by Joanna Blythman) do not help a forward discussion. Let me clarify...
I love Scotland, its culture, Athens of the North (Edinburgh), its music, its malts and salmon, St Andrews (Uni and friends) etc...
Does this mean that Scottish diet is healthy?
Far from it.
I am copying from here.
"Around 22% of all premature deaths in Scotland – 4,600 a year – are caused by CVD1
Today, cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to affect the lives of millions of people and is one of the largest causes of death and disability in Scotland. Premature CVD death rates in Scotland have fallen 78% over the last 40 years,1 largely thanks to BHF-funded research, advances in treating conditions like heart attack and stroke and the decline in smoking, as well as lifestyle changes. But progress has slowed since 2011. The reasons are unclear. We must do more "
The most deprived people in our society shoulder the greatest burden of death and disability from CVD. For instance, people living in the local authority with the highest
level of average deprivation – West Dunbartonshire – are 1.6 times more
likely to die prematurely from CVD compared with people in East
Renfrewshire, which has the lowest average deprivation in Scotland [9 BHF (2018) analysis of Office for National Statistics (2017) and
National Records of Scotland (2017) mortality data for 2014-16].
In order to tackle CVDs and other inflammatory diseases, we need to talk seriously about the diet and the lifestyle of the Scots, the Irish, the Greeks etc.
Obesity is a major problem as discussed here.
People eat junk food not out of choice! But out of lack of choice.
If the personal income is low, people will look for the cheapest food (i.e. the most processed, the least fresh, with the most chemicals, the most sugary, salty etc etc).
Have a look at this graph:
According to the authors
"Figure 1 illustrates the proportion of Irish children who
had overweight or obesity based on their social class group
in 2019. A significant difference in overweight/obesity
levels based on social class group was apparent (P = 0·02).
Those from the highest social class had the lowest overall
prevalence of overweight/obesity at 13 %, in comparison
with those from the lowest social class who had the highest
prevalence at 25 %. The same pattern was observed for
abdominal overweight/obesity as the proportion of children
with a WC ≥ 85th percentile was significantly higher in the
lowest social class group at 36 % in comparison with 20%
in the highest social class group (P = 0·006)"
"Health inequalities resulting from social class have
been labelled as one of the main drivers of the obesity epidemic(
35). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children
in Ireland was starkly different based on social class in
2019. Levels rose steadily from 13 % in children from the
highest social class group to 25 % in those from the lowest,
with a comparable pattern observed for abdominal
overweight/obesity. Similarly, it has been reported that a
higher proportion of children attending disadvantaged
schools had overweight/obesity compared with those
attending non-disadvantaged schools(36). Furthermore,
inequalities in overweight/obesity prevalence have also
been described in American and British children(37,38).
These findings highlight the continued widening gap in
overweight and obesity levels based on social class in
children, with those from a lower social class being more
predisposed to this disease.
In comparison with overweight and obesity, children
with morbid obesity are three times more likely to experience
immediate health issues such as worsened cardiometabolic
risk profiles, high blood pressure, and suffer from
depression and anxiety(39–42). In 2019, 1·2 % of children
had morbid obesity, with a slightly higher level of morbid
obesity observed in boys at 1·7 % than girls at 0·7 %.
Moreover, a higher prevalence was observed in children
from a low socio-economic background. A similar level
of morbid obesity was found in the COSI at 1·5 % in
2012/2015 with higher rates occurring in children attending
disadvantaged schools(43). Across Europe, a recent assessment
of the prevalence of morbid obesity found that of
the children who had obesity, at least one in four had
morbid obesity, with the highest rates observed in
Southern Europe(44)."
In a nutshell: yes, Scottish food is Great; Irish food is Great, Italian pasta, Spanish tapas, Greek mezedes etc. So, how do we have so many millions suffering from chronic diseases in all these countries with great food and cuisine? Lack of guidelines? Education? Information? Poverty?
Guidelines are super (according to the dieticians); food is great and healthy according to Journalists, Chefs, Hospitality Managers, Tourist Boards.
Statins will save the world...not just yet.
So...what is bloody wrong? Why people die from NCDs? Why is obesity rising?
Do we need a different approach? Perhaps?
What about this: inflammation is the killer.
The sooner we realise it, the better. Anti-inflammatory diet is the way forward...not the black and white discussion about animal/plant diets.
Yannis Z.
I love Scotland, its culture, Athens of the North (Edinburgh), its music, its malts and salmon, St Andrews (Uni and friends) etc...
Does this mean that Scottish diet is healthy?
Far from it.
I am copying from here.
"Around 22% of all premature deaths in Scotland – 4,600 a year – are caused by CVD1
Today, cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to affect the lives of millions of people and is one of the largest causes of death and disability in Scotland. Premature CVD death rates in Scotland have fallen 78% over the last 40 years,1 largely thanks to BHF-funded research, advances in treating conditions like heart attack and stroke and the decline in smoking, as well as lifestyle changes. But progress has slowed since 2011. The reasons are unclear. We must do more "
 |
| BHF (2018) analysis of Office for National Statistics (2017) and National Records of Scotland (2017) mortality data for 2014-16 |
In order to tackle CVDs and other inflammatory diseases, we need to talk seriously about the diet and the lifestyle of the Scots, the Irish, the Greeks etc.
Obesity is a major problem as discussed here.
People eat junk food not out of choice! But out of lack of choice.
If the personal income is low, people will look for the cheapest food (i.e. the most processed, the least fresh, with the most chemicals, the most sugary, salty etc etc).
Have a look at this graph:
 |
| Obesity as per social class group |
According to the authors
"Figure 1 illustrates the proportion of Irish children who
had overweight or obesity based on their social class group
in 2019. A significant difference in overweight/obesity
levels based on social class group was apparent (P = 0·02).
Those from the highest social class had the lowest overall
prevalence of overweight/obesity at 13 %, in comparison
with those from the lowest social class who had the highest
prevalence at 25 %. The same pattern was observed for
abdominal overweight/obesity as the proportion of children
with a WC ≥ 85th percentile was significantly higher in the
lowest social class group at 36 % in comparison with 20%
in the highest social class group (P = 0·006)"
"Health inequalities resulting from social class have
been labelled as one of the main drivers of the obesity epidemic(
35). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children
in Ireland was starkly different based on social class in
2019. Levels rose steadily from 13 % in children from the
highest social class group to 25 % in those from the lowest,
with a comparable pattern observed for abdominal
overweight/obesity. Similarly, it has been reported that a
higher proportion of children attending disadvantaged
schools had overweight/obesity compared with those
attending non-disadvantaged schools(36). Furthermore,
inequalities in overweight/obesity prevalence have also
been described in American and British children(37,38).
These findings highlight the continued widening gap in
overweight and obesity levels based on social class in
children, with those from a lower social class being more
predisposed to this disease.
In comparison with overweight and obesity, children
with morbid obesity are three times more likely to experience
immediate health issues such as worsened cardiometabolic
risk profiles, high blood pressure, and suffer from
depression and anxiety(39–42). In 2019, 1·2 % of children
had morbid obesity, with a slightly higher level of morbid
obesity observed in boys at 1·7 % than girls at 0·7 %.
Moreover, a higher prevalence was observed in children
from a low socio-economic background. A similar level
of morbid obesity was found in the COSI at 1·5 % in
2012/2015 with higher rates occurring in children attending
disadvantaged schools(43). Across Europe, a recent assessment
of the prevalence of morbid obesity found that of
the children who had obesity, at least one in four had
morbid obesity, with the highest rates observed in
Southern Europe(44)."
In a nutshell: yes, Scottish food is Great; Irish food is Great, Italian pasta, Spanish tapas, Greek mezedes etc. So, how do we have so many millions suffering from chronic diseases in all these countries with great food and cuisine? Lack of guidelines? Education? Information? Poverty?
Guidelines are super (according to the dieticians); food is great and healthy according to Journalists, Chefs, Hospitality Managers, Tourist Boards.
Statins will save the world...not just yet.
So...what is bloody wrong? Why people die from NCDs? Why is obesity rising?
Do we need a different approach? Perhaps?
What about this: inflammation is the killer.
The sooner we realise it, the better. Anti-inflammatory diet is the way forward...not the black and white discussion about animal/plant diets.
Yannis Z.
