OVEREATING AND OBESITY LINKED TO MSG

Australia is now known as one of the fattest nations in the developed world.

“One in four Australian children are now overweight or obese, and we are one of the few nations in the world where childhood obesity is increasing faster than adult obesity.” [1]

A Senate inquiry into Australia’s obesity epidemic is about to report.

Thank goodness too!

“Recent research estimates that over 17 million Australian’s are now overweight or obese.” [1] Scary statistics!

In a recent article I read, sugar was portrayed as the bad guy.  There is a call for a tax to be imposed on sugar drinks to increase prices by at least 20%.  It was also reported that there are greater levels of obesity in country areas. [2] The reasons cited are due to lower incomes, lower levels of education and greater distances to access healthy food.

I can totally understand this.

On our trip around Australia, I saw first hand the options that remote areas had to offer.  They were dismal and concerning.

Now whilst a lot of the options did have sugar, do you know what else they all had?

ADDITIVES!

The food in these remote areas were all highly processed and laced with some of the worst additives we have.

I remember being so grateful that our caravan was well stocked with fresh provisions and healthy options. Yet at the same time, I felt so incredibly sad for those that lived in the remote areas that had no choices in what they ate.

We definitely need more incentives to support grocers and transport companies to get fresh fruit and veges to these remote towns.

In the interim, we can focus on sending packaged foods that highly laden with MSG.

MSG is overlooked in the obesity epidemic.

We know that MSG increases appetite. Studies have shown that MSG given to rats caused a massive 40% increase in appetite.

Have you eaten snacks with MSG…? Once you start eating, you cannot stop.

There is a reason why MSG is a flavour enhancer, it is used to make food taste better. It makes sense that this would result in overeating?

This isn’t new!   Studies from the 1960s showed that MSG induced obesity in animal studies.

“The animals exposed to MSG were found to be short, grossly obese, and had difficulty with sexual reproduction.” [3]

Even more recently, a study published by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health in 2008 states that:

“people who use monosodium glutamate, or MSG as a flavour enhancer in their food are more likely than people who don’t use it to be overweight or obese even though they have the same amount of physical activity and total calorie intake.” [4]

Before we let sugar take all the wrap for the Obesity Epidemic, perhaps its time to look at which additives could also be contributing to the Obesity epidemic.

What are your thoughts?

Do you think it is time that we start looking at our additives in food and how they are contributing to the Obesity Epidemic?

Comment below, I would love to hear your view.

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