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Obesity and Undernutrition Part of Global Syndemic?

Popular health journal, The Lancet, has launched a commission and lengthy report calling out obesity, undernutrition and climate change as creating a global syndemic (think pandemic, but multiple large-scale risks all occurring at the same time).  Obesity and undernutrition will be the focus of this post.



It may seem odd that two seemingly opposites are such large problems. We may think that obesity is associated with developed countries and undernutrition with developing countries, but both are really affecting the whole world. Someone can be obese while also being malnourished if they are not consuming nutrient dense foods. In fact, obesity is estimated to affect over 2 billion people world wide. That's over a quarter of the entire global population. Furthermore, obesity and it's affects are the 3 out of 4 leading causes of non-communicable diseases around the world. (1)

All of this is nothing new and groups and governments have tried and failed to address these issues for decades. The Lancet points to several reasons why these attempts haven't worked including inconsistent policies, opposition to policies by commercial interests, complexity of the problems and lack of public interest. (1) I personally think the new body positivity message being pushed isn't helping the last point. The messaging is often being misconstrued and can empower those overweight to stay that way rather than working with a physician or nutritionist to ensure they are consuming the necessary nutrients and reducing any risk factors for a long, healthy life. Barring any conflicting disease, the weight will usually come down and lab results will get back to a normal range as a result of adopting an unprocessed, nutrient dense, portioned diet.

For a comprehensive breakdown of how to balance your hormones, reset your metabolism, heal your gut, improve your overall health (and yes, lose weight), I suggest looking into the 131 Method. The 131 Method is an online program with endless educational content, recipes and access to Registered Dietitians and a community. There's also a book currently on pre-sale. So many people are 'weight loss resistant' due to imbalances in hormones, a leaky gut, inflammation or a combination of a number of factors. If you struggle with any of these, want to better your health or just curious to learn more, please visit the 131 Method here: https://131method.com?afmc=pk
I've gone through the program myself with amazing results and am an Ambassador for the program.


References:
1) Swinburn, Boyd A, et al. “The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission Report.” The Lancet Commissions, 27 Jan. 2019, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32822-8.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)32822-8/fulltext?utm_campaign=tlobesity19&utm_source=HubPage


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