Living and EATING on the other side of the world- lastest facts on Spanish nutrition

Hola Chic@s,

Thanks so much for filling me in on some of the happenings in Portland. The occupy protest is really taking off around the world isn't it!? It will be interesting to see where this all goes. Thanks for sharing that video as well. It was very touching! I'm glad to hear everyone had a good Halloween. I'm very jealous of your candy intake. Speaking of candy... or junk food in general I learned some interesting facts this week.

One of my professors at the University was talking to me about health and nutrition here Spain. He recommended an article to me that had some interesting statistics and background information about current Spanish dietary health.Yes, I have noted that the meals aren't quite as balanced or healthy but I didn't really think much else of it. Typical Spanish diets don't provide a lot of nutritional value. They are high in carbs and low in vitamins and fiber. I was shocked to discover that 60% of adults in Spain are overweight!! Even further, 20% of those are obese. This is due to other life style factors as well but nutrition and lack of education have a large impact on these statistics. This last year Spain has calculated 14% of its population to have Diabetes. So where is the root of this growing Pandemic??

Tastey fried lunch....with not a vegetable in sight

Nutrition is not something people seem to worry much about or even know much about. I have noticed this in my host family and the families of other students. I'll occasionally hear my madre complaining about being overweight or proclaiming that she should go on a diet but rarely does this affect her eating habits. My sister, in an effort to lose weight, went on a diet of only white french bread and cream cheese. I have never seen my dad eat a vegetable nor have I seen a piece of fruit in the house.  Nutrition is not something that is taught in schools and many products in the grocery store don't even have nutrtional facts on the label. To me, the problem seems to begin here. But really this is only the beginning.

 Like much of the world right now, Spain is in an economic crisis. This has caused many problems but one in particular may not be as obvious. Funding for public education has been cut which means there is no hope of adding nutritional education to the curriculum. So in this case, what you don't know.... is really hurting you. In 2011 it was reported that 1 in 5 people in Spain live bellow the poverty line. In the last few years the average household income in Spain has dropped 5%. This shortage of money affects the type of food people can afford. So, whats cheap? Foods that are high in fat, low in nutrition, easy to make, and affordable become the only thing available to struggling families.

So...? What now!? La Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI) & el Congreso Nacional are currently working on passing a tax on foods with a certain amount of fat. Along with this they would like to begin creating a market for healthy foods at low cost to encourage healthy eating on a budget. Change won't happen over night but soon enough, health professionals hope to see a more balanced trend in the Spanish diet and a decline in the number of people suffering from obesity.

What factors make Portland so different from Alicante in regards to nutrition? Let me know what you guys think!