Reader's Digest - USA (2019-08)

Hewasastatisticinaworldfull

ofthem.TheWorldHealthOrgan-

isation(WHO)callsobesityanur-

genthealthissue,anditissaidtobe

amongthetopthreeself-inf licted

socialburdensaroundtheglobe,up

therewithsmokingandwar;a crisis

thathasmorethantripledinsize

since1975.

Theimmediatecauseofbeing

overweightorobeseisanenerg y

imbalancebetweenkilojoulescon-

sumedandkilojoulesexpended.

Evidencesuggeststhatthisispartly

duetoanincreasedconsumption

oftoomanysugaryproductsatthe

expenseoffruitsandvegetables and

a moresedentarylifestyle.

NOFEWERTHAN1.9BILLIONadults,

about 39 percentoftheworld’stotal

population,areoverweightorobese.

Ofthese,about 13 percent(11per

centofmenand 15 percentofwom-

en)areobese.Over 340 millionchil-

drenandadolescentsagedfiveto 19

wereoverweightorobesein2016.

Weightthatishigherthanwhat

isconsideredasahealthyweight

for a given height is described as

F

iveyearsago,WimTilburgs

couldn’twalk 500 metres

withoutgaspingforbreath.

At 1.77 metrestall and

weighing 125 kilograms

hewas,officially,terribly

obese.Thehigh-f lyingbusiness

consultantbookedanaisleseat

everytimehetravelledforwork

becausehecouldn’tsqueezepast

otherpassengers.

Still,despitehisdoctors’warnings

thathisweightwastherootcauseof

hisnumerousmedicalproblems,

includingtype2 diabetesandhigh

bloodpressure,Wimcouldn’tloseit.

Instead,heusedfoodtomakehim-

selffeelbetter.Sometimes,theliftit

gavehimlasteda wholeafternoon

andsometimes,onlyafewmin-

utes.Hewasanaddict,unthinking,

self-loathingandoutofcontrol.“It

waslikelivinginaworldofgrey,”

saysthe 58 yearold.“Icouldn’tfind

mywayout.”

Thenin2015,asWimwasslow-

lyeatinghiswaythroughabagof

potatochips,hisyoungestson,in

highschoolatthetime,observed

thathisdadprobablywouldn’tbe

aroundtoseehimgraduate.Some-

how thecomment cut through

Wim’sdenial.Ifhecouldn’ttake

careofhimself,howcouldhecare

forhisfamily?Hislifestylechoices

affectedeverythingandeveryone

aroundhim,beitfellowpassengers

ona plane,hisfamilyoranoverbur-

denedhealthcaresystem.

READER’S DIGEST

ABOUT 39 PERCENT

OFTHE WORLD’STOTAL

POPULATIONOF ADULTS

ARE OVERWEIGHT

OR OBESE

ILLUSTRATIONS: MARILEE LAMARQUE

72 Augus t 2019