by Shaheen Darr

Created on: May 05, 2008

For the stone age man food was something that had to be either searched for or hunted down. Both required hard work and physical exercise. To visualise this clearly just look at the way animals have to work hard at finding their daily food, this is exactly what our stone age ancestors had to do. Even when they started using tools to hunt, these tools had to be laboriously made by hand before they could be used to hunt.

There are still some tribes that exist in our modern world who use these methods to find daily food. This physical activity helps the keep their bodies lean and in shape. It is rare to find an obese Maasai warrior for example. They are very athletic and muscular and in addition to genetic factors it is obviously their diets and lifestyles that have made them this way.

Food in our western societies has taken on a totally different meaning. We live to eat basically. From the moment we wake up until the time we go to bed food is consumed in some form or another. We have to eat breakfast, then it is time for a mid-morning snack. This is followed by lunch, a mid-afternoon snack and then it is dinner time. Let us not forget that there is always that after dinner treat we crave for. Meals have to be planned on a daily basis and there has to be variety in these meals or boredom sets in.

This is precisely why the take-away industry has taken off to such new heights. Pizzas, doners, Indian take aways, Chinese take aways and how can we forget everyone's favourite, burger and chips topped up by that delicious thick milk shake of varied flavours. There is always a new recipe or a new idea that is being planned to tempt our palates every day.

The food industry has opened up a new dimension for the giant food stores where we can buy everything to do with food. New ingredients, condiments, new dishes, ready made meals, frozen meals and fruits and vegetables line their shelves. A frenzy of buying takes place in these stores daily and trolleys laden with food are checked out every minute of the day.

As food consumption is increasing by the day our waistlines are getting wider by the day. The diet industry is now taking its turn to step in and advise us of what not to eat and how to eat what is already available. Food and its related industries have become profit churning enterprises and they are on the increase. Food has become an obsession in our lives and this reality is here to stay, so the best option for all of us is to eat healthily and sensibly.

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