You Are What You Eat

A healthy country is defined by its consumption of non-processed and non-pre-packaged foods. According to Hungry Planet by Faith D'Aluisio, one country consider healthy is China. China is unique because it is considered an industrialized country like the United States, Germany and Great Britain. Industrialized countries tend to spend a higher percentage of their food budget on prepared and pre-packaged foods than on fresh foods, vegetables and meats. In contrast, China spends a higher percentage of its food budget on fresh foods, vegetables and meats versus pre-packaged and prepared foods. Two other countries that have the same eating habits as China are Bhutan and Chad.

All three countries, China, Bhutan and Chad, do not spend over $60 per week. The majority of the food budget for all three countries is spent on meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. There is very little money budgeted for starches and dairy products. In most cases, these countries have little or no money budgeted for fast food.

Even though China is a industrialized country, its percentage of the population that is consider overweight is a fraction compared to other industrialized nations such as the United States, Germany and Great Britain. About 28% of men and 23% of women are overweight. The other industrialized countries should use China as an example and listen to the specialists in the field of nutrition to prevent the overweight population to grow.