Actually last time I went to India my family surprised me on that front. Now that several of my uncles have come down with diabetes most of my family has gotten pretty health conscious. They don’t get offended when I try to refuse seconds anymore and when they say “taste this” they actually just let me taste it without expecting me to eat an entire plateful.

it plays an important role in all cultures. only when societies have had a modicum of affluence does the norm change toward more modesty in consumption. the last fat president we’ve had is warren g. harding (look at the paintings of 19th century presidents, and several of them were quite robust fellows). all the while the nation has been getting fatter.

“Poor” in America means having to buy more processed food, often artificially flavored, lacking nutritional value, and high in fat content. But “poor” in South Asia often means having very little to eat at all. Fruits and veggies are comparatively expensive in America, whereas in Pakistan I saw that some poor people in the NWFP live almost entirely off of fruits and veggies, which grow abundantly and can be picked out of the ground or off trees. So the diet of poor people varies considerably in different nations. Poor people in America also seem to exercise less on average (“exercise” to an American often means hitting the gym) whereas in South Asia, peasants naturally engage in more manual labor, and walk a lot more, just like the average American used to do.

try telling your aunts you only want ONE serving of chappati or rice…you’re going to get a slap for sure.

So true, food plays an important role in our culture…and the traditional desi diet isn’t unhealthy either…plenty of lentils, chickpeas, fruits, etc.

yes. also, in the USA there is the idea of “food deserts” and that you can’t eat healthy if you are poor. i know it’s not politically correct to say, but i think this has gone too far. i think a lot of the issue has to do with the nature of peer culture, and the fact that per caloric unit processed food is the cheapest (and frankly, often the tastiest in terms of sensory quantity). a lot of the reason that people on the coasts are thinner than people in “flyover country” is probably just norms. you eat in groups, and follow group cues.

At the end of the day the x factor for desis is exercise, I just don’t see enough desis putting in the hours in the gym and I’m not talking about some half assed spinning. If you’re going to keep the white rice and late night jilabis then cardio MUST increase..and increase by a lot.

i agree with this. you can substitute “white rice” and “late night jilabis” with “cornbred” and “late night ice cream.” if you carbload, burn it off. if you don’t want to exercise or be active, and want to stay trim, go paleo (though keeping that up indefinitely seems difficult for people).

Its really about KNOWING what to eat, then taking the care to do so. Chickpeas, black beans, brown rice are all quite inexpensive especially in bulk…you could build yourself into bruce lee living off that. India doesn’t lack for amazing food. But there are stigmas, the one against brown rice that Alina mentioned… try telling your aunts you only want ONE serving of chappati or rice…you’re going to get a slap for sure.

At the end of the day the x factor for desis is exercise, I just don’t see enough desis putting in the hours in the gym and I’m not talking about some half assed spinning. If you’re going to keep the white rice and late night jilabis then cardio MUST increase..and increase by a lot.

she was talking about in asia. in india and china obesity still correlates positively with wealth. the inverse correlation is operative in developed nations.

(For ex: Organic food)

organic food is not healthier.

In US, I always thought obesity went hand in hand with poverty. I see lots of poor obese people when i make the dreaded visit to a Walmart. Eating healthy takes considerable time & costs more (For ex: Organic food)

http://www.harappadna.org/2011/03/reich-et-al-and-pan-asian-datasets/