Chubby Nation

Mongolians nowadays talk about maintaining a balanced diet and eating healthy once a year. This discussion coincides with Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year), which is the time we consume the most food. It is no secret that when we are having trouble maintaining a good diet, despite the talk around it. We have increasing obesity because adults are not eating healthy, let alone ensuring their children have a balanced diet.

A 2013 report produced by the United Nations indicates that more than half of 15 to 64-year-old Mongolians today are overweight, and one fifth of them are obese. Compared to 2005, when one third of the population was overweight and 10 percent obese, you can see that we are a nation that is quickly growing chubbier. Ten percent of children below the age of five are obese in Mongolia, which puts us second to Indonesia in obesity in Asia. What does it mean that our children are becoming overweight twice as fast as adults?

We consume meat and buuz to excessive amounts, as if there were no tomorrow, while repeating our phrase, "You get full sometimes, but always on Tsagaan Sar."

QUALITY AND VOLUME OF THE FOOD WE CONSUME

Mongolia has focused on reducing nutritional deficiency, but never on decreasing obesity, and has not done anything about it. Highly developed countries around the world are attempting to reduce obesity, but have not achieved significant success at a national level. At an individual level, people are preventing obesity by consuming healthy food and exercising regularly. Even though Mongolians are eating a lot, we are not getting a sufficient amount of essential vitamins and minerals.

Mongolians have a nomadic culture based on animal husbandry. Therefore, food consumption is largely composed of meat, milk, flour, and potato. We are making enough of these products to meet our demands. However, we are not doing so when it comes to vegetables and fruits that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Our vegetable production meets half of the nation's demand, whereas the amount of fruits we grow makes up even less of our demand. This is why we expensively import fish, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and other products from abroad. The amount of fruits and vegetables we consume daily is three to eight times less than the 400 grams recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Seventy-five percent of our population does not consume cellulose in our food, which explains why we lack vitamins and minerals in our diet. We are still...