I cannot believe I have been in Wagga for 5 weeks now. Just one more week to go. I cant wait to finally get back home. Of course, as soon as I get home, I'll have to start preparing in earnest for final exams.....
Only 8 weeks to go before exams. Six years of study comes down to six hours of exams this October/November!!! But then there's holidays to look forward to after that, and then finally start working as a doctor in January...
Friday, 25 August 2006
Tuesday, 15 August 2006
Obesity Epidemic
More people in the world are obese than are starving!! This BBC article estimates that over 1 billion people in the world are obese compared to the 800 million who are undernourished.
The story is the same across the world. Easier access to larger quantities of food, particularly processed food high in oils, sugars and salt, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have combined to generate a global obesity epidemic. Regardles of whether the population in question is urban or rural, rich or poor, "first world" or "third world", the trends are identical; obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.
From my perspective, it is the hospital system that deals with the end-results of all this. The obese are overrepresented in hospitals in general, but also in intensive care, coronary care and high dependency units. They are at the sickest end of the spectrum for most diseases. They have longer hospital stays and more complications from many treatments. Their risk of dying from anaesthesia for an operation is higher than the average person (of course, that phrase will have no meaning soon because the "average" person will be obese).
So the point I am trying to make is that something has to be done soon. The current generation of kids are already much more obese than my generation. The next generation of kids must be raised properly, with the right health education, so that they do not continue the trend. Today's eating habits, including the preference for fast food, junk food, soft drinks and general overeating, have to be fixed. The junk/fast food companies have to take part of the blame for their role in promoting obesity by advertising their......well, junk, to schoolkids in particular. It is quite similar to the cigarette companies which for years lied about the effects of smoking on the lungs, and advertised heavily to get millions of people addicted to nicotine.
But the main problem in my opinion is the modern sedentary lifestyle. Seriously, we are required to do no more than the barest minimum of physical activity in the course of an average day. People whinge and whine about having to walk for 10-15 minutes. Half the population doesnt know how to ride a bicycle. Even less have ever jogged or ran outside of PE class in high school. No longer are kids encouraged to play sports- they can do that on their playstations!!
When I was growing up in India, we hardly used to be indoors when there was daylight. Whether it was cricket, football, cycling or just running around chasing each other, we were always doing something. Even after moving to Australia, we (my brother and I) played lots of cricket and footy. It was only in high school, hooked to stupid computer games, that I fell into the path of sloth. But luckily, after high school, I began playing lots of sport and going to the gym (which I stopped 3 years ago). Anyway, the point is that in my generation I am basically at or slightly below average in terms of physical activity. But compared to the average teenager today, I must be close to being a semiprofessional athlete......
The story is the same across the world. Easier access to larger quantities of food, particularly processed food high in oils, sugars and salt, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have combined to generate a global obesity epidemic. Regardles of whether the population in question is urban or rural, rich or poor, "first world" or "third world", the trends are identical; obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.
From my perspective, it is the hospital system that deals with the end-results of all this. The obese are overrepresented in hospitals in general, but also in intensive care, coronary care and high dependency units. They are at the sickest end of the spectrum for most diseases. They have longer hospital stays and more complications from many treatments. Their risk of dying from anaesthesia for an operation is higher than the average person (of course, that phrase will have no meaning soon because the "average" person will be obese).
So the point I am trying to make is that something has to be done soon. The current generation of kids are already much more obese than my generation. The next generation of kids must be raised properly, with the right health education, so that they do not continue the trend. Today's eating habits, including the preference for fast food, junk food, soft drinks and general overeating, have to be fixed. The junk/fast food companies have to take part of the blame for their role in promoting obesity by advertising their......well, junk, to schoolkids in particular. It is quite similar to the cigarette companies which for years lied about the effects of smoking on the lungs, and advertised heavily to get millions of people addicted to nicotine.
But the main problem in my opinion is the modern sedentary lifestyle. Seriously, we are required to do no more than the barest minimum of physical activity in the course of an average day. People whinge and whine about having to walk for 10-15 minutes. Half the population doesnt know how to ride a bicycle. Even less have ever jogged or ran outside of PE class in high school. No longer are kids encouraged to play sports- they can do that on their playstations!!
When I was growing up in India, we hardly used to be indoors when there was daylight. Whether it was cricket, football, cycling or just running around chasing each other, we were always doing something. Even after moving to Australia, we (my brother and I) played lots of cricket and footy. It was only in high school, hooked to stupid computer games, that I fell into the path of sloth. But luckily, after high school, I began playing lots of sport and going to the gym (which I stopped 3 years ago). Anyway, the point is that in my generation I am basically at or slightly below average in terms of physical activity. But compared to the average teenager today, I must be close to being a semiprofessional athlete......
Sunday, 13 August 2006
My brother and I had a conversation about blogging yesterday....
We dont like each others blogs!! So our blogging conversations usually amount to little more than back-and-forth slandering. During the course of yesterdays slander-session, this particular segment was especially amusing....
M: ....have u even read my blog??
D: No of course not!! Its like reading a bloody book.
M: So whats wrong with that. (I'd be happy if someone other than my brother told me that my blog read like a book)
D: Whats the point of reading a book?? All the good books get made into movies.......
M: AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!........(howl of frustration followed by sigh of exasperation/resignation to defeat)
We dont like each others blogs!! So our blogging conversations usually amount to little more than back-and-forth slandering. During the course of yesterdays slander-session, this particular segment was especially amusing....
M: ....have u even read my blog??
D: No of course not!! Its like reading a bloody book.
M: So whats wrong with that. (I'd be happy if someone other than my brother told me that my blog read like a book)
D: Whats the point of reading a book?? All the good books get made into movies.......
M: AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!........(howl of frustration followed by sigh of exasperation/resignation to defeat)
Vagabonding
Check out this blog. This guy is amazing. He is cycling through the Himalaya and Karokaram ranges, into Turkestan (or Chinese Xinjiang) and through the Tibetan plateau to finish in Nepal. He rides his bike, carrying 40kg of gear, at impossible altitudes of over 5000m, where ordinary people such as myself would be breathless at rest, let alone when cycling and lugging along an extra 40 kg. Be sure to check out his planned route on the sidebar of the blog. And the photos!! What can I say, absolutely breathtaking......
Sunday, 6 August 2006
The disappearing nomads
I've been thinking about this one for a few months now but I've been unable to write anything meaningful about it. I'm not sure that even now I have anything particularly worthy to say, but I'm going to try....
Several months ago, on SBS news, there was a feature on the dwindling number of nomads in Mongolia. It seems that most of the nomads have given up their ancestral way of life and moved to the cities in search of stable empl0yment, which of course they dont usually find, being illiterate and often having the wrong skill set for city life. They end up living in large slums and being exploited for manual labour and other low-paying odd jobs.
The nomadic way of life is being stifled not just in Mongolia but in many parts of Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The nomads of the Central Asian plateau, tribal peoples such as the Kazaks, Uighurs, Tajiks, Tatars, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, over the course of the 20th century have become increasingly urbanized and given up their traditional lifestyles. The same is true for the tribes of the western Himalayas in India such as the Gujjars and the Gaddis. It is true that the government of India has done more to preserve the ancestral traditions of the Himalayan nomads compared to the USSR, PRC and the new Central Asian republics, but there is still undoubtedly a shift from nomadic to static urban lifestyles amongst these people. In the far east of India, the tribal way of life (not always nomadic in these more fertile areas I must point out) is under threat because of different reasons. Here, political instability, rebellion and near civil war is the main threat.
So what are the reasons for this shift?? It is apparent that the lives these people lead when they give up their nomadic lifestyle and take up residence in the cities is often riddled with poverty and exploitation. Yet they must feel that this is the only way to give themselves and their children a better chance in life. It is known that with increasing populations and increasing consumption, land use is becoming increasingly intensive. And land that was previously unused for whatever reason (quality of natural resources, access etc) is becoming more attractive to use. For the "greater good", it is often the indigenous nomads whose priorities are ignored. Historically, certain regions in the world became populated by nomads because the land was not fertile or hospitable enough for sustaining a permanent population. These regions are hence sparsely populated and in certain seasons unpopulated by humans. By necessity, the land required to support a certain number of people is quite large, in contrast to say the floodplains of the Ganga which contains extremely fertile land and has supported massive static populations.
But with improved technology, human beings are able to utilize much of this 'poor' quality land. As the need arises, many of these previously 'untouched' areas are being encroached upon. The amount of land available to indigenous nomads dwindles as a result. Areas of Kashmir and Himachal in northern India have been reserved by the Indian government for exclusive use of the indigenous nomads, but actions such as this are the exception rather than the rule. This issue has been in focus in India over the last few months (sadly for the wrong reasons much of the time) with the planned construction of a dam on the river Narmada. If this dam is built, acres of land upstream will be flooded, thereby displacing many thousands of local nomads. But the government argues that while several thousands will suffer, lakhs (1 lakh= 1,00,000) and lakhs will benefit from improved irrigation and more constant electricity.
So what are the solutions?? Will the vibrant nomadic cultures of Asia be alive and functioning or will they be superceded by hyperintense agriculture etc. within a generation or two? What is the exact responsibility of governments, remembering that 21st century national boundaries are an artificial imposition which have little meaning for the wandering nomads of Central Asia particularly?
Several months ago, on SBS news, there was a feature on the dwindling number of nomads in Mongolia. It seems that most of the nomads have given up their ancestral way of life and moved to the cities in search of stable empl0yment, which of course they dont usually find, being illiterate and often having the wrong skill set for city life. They end up living in large slums and being exploited for manual labour and other low-paying odd jobs.
The nomadic way of life is being stifled not just in Mongolia but in many parts of Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The nomads of the Central Asian plateau, tribal peoples such as the Kazaks, Uighurs, Tajiks, Tatars, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, over the course of the 20th century have become increasingly urbanized and given up their traditional lifestyles. The same is true for the tribes of the western Himalayas in India such as the Gujjars and the Gaddis. It is true that the government of India has done more to preserve the ancestral traditions of the Himalayan nomads compared to the USSR, PRC and the new Central Asian republics, but there is still undoubtedly a shift from nomadic to static urban lifestyles amongst these people. In the far east of India, the tribal way of life (not always nomadic in these more fertile areas I must point out) is under threat because of different reasons. Here, political instability, rebellion and near civil war is the main threat.
So what are the reasons for this shift?? It is apparent that the lives these people lead when they give up their nomadic lifestyle and take up residence in the cities is often riddled with poverty and exploitation. Yet they must feel that this is the only way to give themselves and their children a better chance in life. It is known that with increasing populations and increasing consumption, land use is becoming increasingly intensive. And land that was previously unused for whatever reason (quality of natural resources, access etc) is becoming more attractive to use. For the "greater good", it is often the indigenous nomads whose priorities are ignored. Historically, certain regions in the world became populated by nomads because the land was not fertile or hospitable enough for sustaining a permanent population. These regions are hence sparsely populated and in certain seasons unpopulated by humans. By necessity, the land required to support a certain number of people is quite large, in contrast to say the floodplains of the Ganga which contains extremely fertile land and has supported massive static populations.
But with improved technology, human beings are able to utilize much of this 'poor' quality land. As the need arises, many of these previously 'untouched' areas are being encroached upon. The amount of land available to indigenous nomads dwindles as a result. Areas of Kashmir and Himachal in northern India have been reserved by the Indian government for exclusive use of the indigenous nomads, but actions such as this are the exception rather than the rule. This issue has been in focus in India over the last few months (sadly for the wrong reasons much of the time) with the planned construction of a dam on the river Narmada. If this dam is built, acres of land upstream will be flooded, thereby displacing many thousands of local nomads. But the government argues that while several thousands will suffer, lakhs (1 lakh= 1,00,000) and lakhs will benefit from improved irrigation and more constant electricity.
So what are the solutions?? Will the vibrant nomadic cultures of Asia be alive and functioning or will they be superceded by hyperintense agriculture etc. within a generation or two? What is the exact responsibility of governments, remembering that 21st century national boundaries are an artificial imposition which have little meaning for the wandering nomads of Central Asia particularly?
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