According
to the World Health Organization, the obesity problem has reached
epidemic proportions.
The statistics are alarming:
- Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults,
at least 300 million of them obese.
- Worldwide, 22 million children
under age 5 are estimated to be overweight
- Obesity and overweight
pose a major risk for chronic diseases, including type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension
and stroke, and certain forms of cancer.
(World Health Organization)
 Although many think of obesity as affecting only
industrialized societies, over 115 million people in developing
countries are estimated to suffer
from obesity-related problems. Among the affluent and the impoverished
alike, the obesity epidemic is an extreme manifestation of the
problem of malnutrition. Through its holistic approach—distributing wholesome
vegetarian meals, providing health care for the needy, caring for orphaned
and destitute children—Food for Life is joining the fight against
obesity.
Studies have established the relationship between obesity and a host
of life-threatening ailments, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension,
type II diabetes, and certain cancers. Personal health is not the only
thing that suffers, however. Obesity and obesity-related illness also
create a tremendous drain on personal and national economies due to lost
worker productivity and medical expenses.
A lowered rate of obesity is one of the many well
documented benefits of a vegetarian diet: the rate of obesity among
the general population
is three times greater than among vegetarians. Through the distribution
of healthy, plant-based meals, Food for Life is simultaneously
fulfilling its primary mission of providing hunger relief and fighting
the poverty
that lies at hunger’s root.
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