Food and the fattening of SA

So I though I'd start my blogging existence by covering my favorite subject; food. South Africa has such an amazing array of food; from, boerewors to pies to milk tarts. I find that food here is much more flavorful than the fare that is available in North America, and mind you, I've had some amazing meals in North America.

I was at the supermarket the other day and what did I come across, ostrich burgers. Now anyone that knows me knows that I love exotic meats, especially wild game. So I had to pick up the ostrich burgers. With all this access that I had to great food, I was left pondering whether South Africans were healthy eaters. They are not.

Almost half of South Africans over the age of 15 are overweight or obese, to the point that it is on its way to becoming an epidemic in this country. The rise of heart disease and other weight related ailments, including diabetes "sugar" is astounding. And if one thinks that this is primarily related to the affluent white population they are wrong. For women, the obesity rate was the highest in Africans (32%), followed by coloureds (26%), whites (23%) and then Indians (21%). For men, the obesity rate was the highest in whites (18%), followed by Indians and coloureds (8%) and then by Africans (6%). So whats happening in SA? Looks like the prevalence of fast food, fatty foods and change in peoples lifestyles has led to the fattening of South Africans. For example, I have never been in a country where people love their mayonnaise as they do in SA. Potato salads slathered in the stuff, chicken sandwiches gooey from the gloop, and get this, salads drenched in "salad cream", which is basically watered down mayo. And the meat consumption here is off the charts. Breakfast, eggs with some sort of meat, lunch more meat, dinner, hey would you like some meat to go with your meat.

Then there is the braai, or barbeque. When I arrived at the party, some weeks ago, I noticed a lamb on a spit, and thought, 'great braaied lamb' for dinner. Oh, no the lamb was served some time after the wonderful dinner was served and the dishes were cleared, sort of like a pre-dessert appertizer. Mind you I'm not complaining about the lamb or the food in general. Its just that South Africans love their meat, and unfortunatley if the consumption of these foods does not slow down, then the country will have another issue to deal with.