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Tradition no excuse for seasonal overeating
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Osmanthus wine, sugar-roasted chestnuts, taro, green soybeans, hairy crab, lotus and duck — for many in Shanghai, these are the flavors of autumn.
But with the onset of colder temperatures, many also feel the need to pack on the pounds ahead of winter — a custom known as “adding fat.”
As a tradition, many see this as a good excuse to over-indulge.
But as more and more people become overweight, the public’s attitude toward this old custom has changed. These days it’s not hard to see headlines like “Should we add autumn fat?” or “Is it still necessary to add autumn fat?”
For many people, the answer is no, it isn’t. A recent survey by the National Health and Family Planning commission revealed that more than 30 percent of Chinese adults were overweight, while nearly 12 percent were obese.
Obesity affects life-span
“Obesity, like smoking, has proven to be linked with many chronic diseases which affect quality of life as well as life-span,” said Professor Wang Hui, director of the Food Safety Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “These are key risk factors to triggering hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer,” Wang told Shanghai Daily.
It’s hardly a surprise then that many of the foods people usually load up on this time of year are full of protein and fat. When combined with a sedentary lifestyle, eating these foods in abundance could lead to health complications, making the old traditions out of step with modern times.
Further complicating matters is the fact that we are now eating rich, more heavily processed foods than ever before.
The results of one national survey found that many of us eat too much fat and meat, but too few grains and vegetables. We also consume a great deal of salt and MSG. Indeed, more than 70 percent of Chinese eat excessive salt, certain statistics show.
Professor Wang suggests having a varied diet. She also noted that there is no perfect diet for everyone, and that people should choose foods that suit them. “Each person has different DNA, which means that needs and tolerances for specific foods will also be different. It’s best to find individual solutions for each of us, similar to personalized medicines tailored for individual use,” she said.
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