Introduction
The Malthusian Catastrophe
In 1798, English economist Thomas Malthus predicted that global population would eventually exceed agricultural production, and eventually millions woud starve to death. Malthus based his prediction mainly on the fact that while human population grew at an exponential rate, food production increased arithmetically. Malthus' prediction eventually came to be known as Malthus' theory or the Malthusian catastrophe.
Thankfully, Malthus' bleak prediction did not come true, due mainly to the advent of technology, which has enabled food producers to increase rates of food production. Despite the avoidance of his scenario of mass starvation, it is important to note that many countries in developing countries still battle with the problem of hunger.
At the other end of the spectrum , Obesity has become a prevalant trend. Many have the misconception that obesity is exclusive to developed countries, and does not exist in developing countries. The advent of globalization , is making the problem of obesity in developing countries more acute.
What is the Globalization?
Globalization is the process in which countries around the world integrate to form a single entity. With the advent of globalization, there have been significant changes around the globe. Economic growth, Increased affluence and higher standards of living are some of the benefits which globalization has brough to developing countries. However, it is not all rosy. A new problem known as the Nutrition Transition as the emerged.
The Nutrition Transition
With increasing globalization, people in developing countries began to adopt the eating habits of those in developing countries. Westernization of eating patterns hve led to people in devleoping countries consuming high-calorie food such as fast food and sweetend cola. The shift towards Western diets has posed a problem to developing countries - obesity.
Nutrition transition refers to the situation where both obesity and hunger coexist in a particular society. Many consider the co-existence of hugner and obesity in a country to be paradoxical.Hunger is caused by the lack of quality food ans insufficient calorie intake, while obesity on the other hand, is caused by excessive calorie intake.
In low-income, Sub-Saharan African countries where some suffer from malnutrition ,10 to 15 percent of adults who are overweight. In fact, nutrition transitions may exist within a household. In Brazil, about 11 percent of the households have members who are both obese and underweigh. While in Asia, this situation exists in about 3 to 15 percent.
Nutrition transitions have catastrophic effects on individuals and the societies. The most worrying fact is that obesity and food-concerned diseases are spreading vastly in developing countries, they are trying to alleviate hunger at the same time.
Citations & References:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-malthusian-catastrophe.htm(accessed March 30, 2008)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe(accessed March 30, 2008)
http://www.fao.org/FOCUS/E/obesity/obes2.htm(accessed March 30, 2008)
http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Diab-Em/Dietary-Trends-International.html(accessed March 30, 2008)
http://www.linksnorth.com/nutrition/nutrients.html(accessed March 30, 2008)
September 2007, 30-33.