What has population and growth got to do with obesity?

by Professor Garry Egger

Obesity is now the biggest epidemic the world has ever seen – bigger in numbers than the bubonic plague of the 14^th century or the great influenza epidemic of 1918. Yet despite its obvious causes – over-eating, inactivity and an (over-rated) influence of genes – no single country has been able to slow the epidemic down.

Over 15% of the world’s population are now overweight or obese (in Australia the figure is 56%) – and all this only since around 1980!

The question that has to be asked is why? How is it that humans have existed in some form for probably a million years with very few ever asking the question ‘does my bum look too big in this?’, but that obesity has become rampant in the last 30 years? 

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Link HERE to the ABC “The Drum” website addressing “Population Sustainability and the Ponzi demographic”

A good friend of mine, Chris Mills – who I consider is pretty bright because he has oodles of qualifications (not like me, I’m just a car radio installer) – has sent me the attached document where he proposes as  speech of leadership which our Prime Minister could make to Parliament.  I think it has a lot going for it.  Read it – the Wilberforce Award winner will no doubt be thinking along similar lines.

Chris has described the population growth issue in Australia as “it’s a giant Ponzi scheme – we’re importing people to provide the services because we’re importing people”.  He says, “Dick, I’ve invested a lot of time in finding a global solution to climate management – I’ve attached a speech by the Prime Minister describing a global solution”.

Read on and read Chris’ idea of what the Prime Minister of Australia could say about managing climate change. continue reading

Dick met with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, on Wednesday 21 July to discuss, among other things, the pressing issue of population. Dick had a very satisfactory meeting with Ms Gillard, during which he gave her a list of issues he considered priorities in relation to population and growth.  continue reading

Every society clings to a myth by which it lives. Ours is the myth of economic growth.

For the last five decades, the pursuit of growth has been the single most important policy goal across the world. The global economy is almost five times the size it was half a century ago. If it continues to grow at the same rate, the economy will become eighty times that size by the year 2100. This extraordinary ramping up of global economic activity has not historical precedent. It is totally at odds with our scientific knowledge.

Read Tim Jackson’s brilliant report here: prosperity_without_growth_report by tim jackson