Societal norm: I wanna be healthy!

In 2004, approximately 6.8 million Canadian adults ages 20 to 64 were overweight, and an additional 4.5 million were classified as obese. Dramatic increases in overweight and obesity among Canadians over the past 30 years have been deemed as an “epidemic.” But today, healthy living has become the world’s fastest growing market trend, according to a new global survey by ACNielsen. The report identified a number of people who want to be part of the healthy living trend. If you go to any fast food restaurant, supermarket, or store, everything is centred around living right to accomodate this trend. McDonalds now has an option of salad instead of fries, every supermarket has numerous healthy food alternatives, and so many stores sell designer water bottles and work out videos. This societal need has lead to many scientific and technological developments related to internal systems.

Let's take a look at a few really cool ones:

You've all seen the silly diets people come up with. But today, there are diets relating to, get this, DNA. Nutrigenomics, the concept of using your genes to decide which diet plan is best for you, is a hot topic for nutritionists and doctors. Some scientists believe that chemicals found in our foods can affect our health by manipulating how our DNA works. Using family history and genetic testing, nutrigenomics could identify which diseases we may be susceptible to, such as diabetes or heart disease. They teach us how to use food to prevent them.

The Wii Fit. With the help of Nintendo, anyone can get in shape without even leaving the house.

Shoes that multi-task. Workout shoes like Skechers ShapUps claim to tone muscles and reduce cellulite with every step.

Megafruits. These berries called Acai berries, may keep cancer away, improve heart health and slow aging.

Specialize your food. The new software, NutriFilter, has been developed by Peapod and allows customers to enter their specific requirements, from gluten-free, peanut-free or low fat to kosher, organic or high in vitamin A. They can develop whole meal plans and then are reviewed by an actual doctor!

Health records on the internet. Google Health is an online database that holds all of our files, gives people appointment reminders, and informs us what drugs have been administered to our bodies. It's sort of like online banking for our bodies!

I can list every which way scientific and technological advancements have contributed to the societal need to be healthy, but the list would be endless. All in all, its great to see people wanting to live the healthy life. Who know's what will come next. We might be able to prolong the life expectancy of all people and maybe even have a world free of disease.A complete body scan that identifies AND removes all diseases? How about 0 calorie chocolate cake? One of these days, this can actually become a reality. As long as there are the means to do so, these advancements will make human beings the healthy people they were intended to be. We simply have to have the desire to do so.
When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow." Tomorrow is disease. ~Terri Guillemets

Resources:

http://pork.impello.com/pdf/health_views_v5-1.pdf
http://www.foodweek.com.au/main-features-page

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/

http://www.genomicseducation.ca/informationArticles/health/nutrigenomics

http://198.103.98.28/hl-vs/

http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/meals/meal_planning/technology_for_healthy_eating_habits.html

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Technology-assists-consumers-in-healthy-eating

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Joanna Decc

Kieran Petrasek