What is Healthy Eating for Life?

Ignorance

Over the past decades, a lot of research has been done about this subject. Many food that our mothers told us to be healthy, are healthy indeed. But there is food that is still in the food pyramids that appear to be not as healthy as we thought.

Secondly, in the past people did not think about what was good or bad for their health, as they simply did not know the consequences. Smoking is such an example. For many decades, smoking was accepted and it was even considered a status symbol. Ladies smokes long cigarettes and gentlemen Cuban cigars.

Awareness

It was only a few decades ago that governments and the greater public became aware of the devastating consequences smoking has on our health and on the health of the non-smokers that have to inhale the smoke in the room.

Smoking

In the seventies and even in the eighties, it was still widely accepted that people smoked. My father was a heavy smoker. Most of the time cigars, sometimes cigarettes. He lit one with the other. When we were teenagers, we started to complain. The sitting room was always covered with a curtain of smoke, so we, the children, inhaled the unhealthy air without knowing the consequences. I new it was not helpful for my sports performance at that time. I was not aware of any long term damage that it could cause to my lungs.

It took years before smoking was finally banned in public buildings, on the work place and finally in restaurants and bars. Most developed countries forbid smoking in these areas today, but the laws were introduced only a few years ago.

Fat

Next, fat became under attack. Due to the fast changing life styles in the 70-ies and 80-ies, people gained weight and started to face the consequences of eating too much and having little or no physical exercise. In the developed world, everyone could afford a car. The car became the new status symbol, many people in the developed countries can afford one and even two or more, and they are used to go everywhere.

Exercising during our daily routine

Governments stimulated and facilitated people to drive their cars. Direct and indirect taxes, road taxes and especially excise duties on fuel are a very important source of income for today’s money hungry governments. In most countries, roads and streets have been designed for transportation by car, taxi or bus. Only recently local governments start to improve pavements, walking routes and bicycle lanes.

There are a few positive exceptions: in the Netherlands and in Denmark, there are good facilities for walking and biking. In a city like Amsterdam, the bicycle is the preferred transportation vehicle. On most places, the bicycle paths are completely separated from the car traffic. There is a small trade-off, however: there are so many bicycles and the cyclists do not very well respect the rules of the road, preferences and traffic lights that situations are sometimes chaotic. Many first time foreign visitors in Amsterdam are confused.

Continue with overweight and obesity