The number of overweight Canadians has increased dramatically over the past 25 years (Health Canada). Why has obesity become such an issue in recent years? There are numerous contributing factors to obesity many of which can be blamed on technology;
-inactivity
Technology has enabled us to get from point A to point B without the need for physical activity.
Leisurely activities such as playing video games, using the computer and watching television are favoured over activities such as playing outside.
-Poor eating habits
Fast food places have made unhealthy food even more appealing with drive-thrus. Now we don’t even need to move to get our unhealthy fried food!
Over the past years, the trend of convenience has become increasingly popular. Many technological advancements have been made to make everything convenient to us, requiring little effort on our part. However with this trend of convenience comes laziness and unhealthy lifestyles.
Now the desire for a healthier lifestyle has become a fast growing market trend. It seems people will buy anything after watching a commercial that promises a healthier lifestyle. People not only want to be an ideal size, they want to be more active, have their nutritional needs met, have better overall wellness and live longer. Numerous technological developments have been made to keep up with the desire for healthier lifestyles.
I don’t know how many commercials I’ve seen promoting the Activia 14 day challenge. Activia is the tasty fat-free yogurt with BL Regularis. Activia’s unique probiotic BL Regularis culture is able to survive gastric acids and enzymes. It is still alive when it reaches your digestive tract and once it is there it helps metabolize proteins. The probiotic culture that is found in Activia is already found in our body, however consuming more of it benefits our digestive system.
Centrum has designed a wide range of vitamin supplements to cater to the needs of people from different age groups and genders. Centrum Kids contains nutrients such as iron and Zinc to support healthy growth, and antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E to support their immune systems. Centrum Silver (for adults 50+) contains vitamin D and Calcium to maintain strong bones, and vitamins B6, B12 and Lycopene to promote a healthy heart.
Splenda, its made from sugar, tastes like sugar, but it’s not sugar. Splenda was originally formulated so people with diabetes could have a sweet tooth without it affecting their blood sugar levels. However, many people don’t use Splenda because they have diabetes, it is preferred over normal sugar because it has zero calories. You can put it in your coffee, bake a cake with it and not feel guilty about the calories.
Contrary to many other game systems which require little physical activity, the Nintendo Wii features a number of interactive games such as Wii sports and Wii fit. Wii Sports consists of five different sports games; tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. Wii Sports also has a fitness test which calculates the player’s fitness age and takes into account their balance, speed, and stamina. A graph is formulated and the player can keep track of their progress. Wii Fit consists of four categories; strength training, yoga, aerobics and balance. Thanks to this technology, players are able to exercise and have fun while doing it.
Although our advancements in technology have lead to inactivity and fast foods that don’t meet our nutritional needs, we were very quick with our attempts to fix this issue. We have developed vitamin supplements to fill in the nutritional value that our food may be lacking. We implemented probiotic cultures in our yogurt to help with the digestion of unhealthy proteins. We have also made several alternative activities to sitting on the couch and watching television. Nowadays, there are so many ways to obtain a healthy lifestyle that we can’t really blame technology for our unhealthy habits. At this point, it is our choice. So will you take the Activia 14 day challenge, or hit the drive thru at McDonalds?
Works Cited
http://www.activia.ca/en/effect/digestive.aspx
http://www.centrum.com/productdetail.aspx?brandproductid=43
http://www.splenda.ca/diabetes-splenda.aspx
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/life-vie/obes-eng.php
http://wiifit.com/training/
http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1OTtO06SP7M52gi5m8pD6CnahbW8CzxE
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