The Challenge for this week is “The Sign Says”
We were strolling the streets in the city of ChongQing, China, remarking at how new and tall the buildings were.
The only prominent and visible sign was that of a global chain restaurant who claims to have 34,000 restaurants in over 100+ countries.
The sign reminded me of the changing eating habits in China which have brought new health problems to the world’s most populous nation, as the country’s economic boom allowed millions of people to add more meat and processed foods into their diets.
In a matter of less than two generations, China has gone from insufficiency of food (for instance, during the Cultural Revolution) to almost gluttony. This has contributed to obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, higher Body Mass Index etc. in the population.
To me, the sign says we must eat healthily, have enough physical exercise, manage our stresses, be at peace with ourselves / outside world and adopt a positive attitude.
The Sign is clear 🙂
retireediary 
When I lived in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, we sometimes went to the McDonald’s down at the beach. It was a good reminder of home, but admittedly, not the healthiest of food.
. . . . and people do barbeque a lot near to the beach, which I think is also not healthy. Thank you 🙂
It is very scary to see how quickly a nations eating habits can change and the health of its citizens degenerate so fast. What they are eating is almost as worrying as the quality of the products.
Yes, the quality is very important. I am also getting worried with genetically altered food which is now getting so common. Thank you 🙂
The Colonel and KFC is never a good sign/
Sometimes, I ask myself why fast food necessarily be unhealthy. I suppose they can still produce healthy fast food?? Thank you 🙂
Indee the sign is clear my friend. I hope your country pays attention because mine did not…
There is a danger that when people did not have enough to eat, suddenly they have access to all these meat & processed food. Hope they are wise enough to choose only healthy food. Thank you 🙂
I know as an American we love to spread our culture around, but maybe this is one part that shouldn’t be copied.
Also, be careful and don’t let your late night television channels show hour long commercials. You’ll start eating all the bad food just in hopes of getting a heart attack to avoid the infomercial shows.
Thanks for the advice; we need more education on healthy food. Thank you 🙂
Oh my, the Colonel is everywhere….
You are quite right, I have seen him everywhere! Have a great weekend 🙂
Well said Michael. Wealth doesn’t necessarily mean health.
. . . .and health can not be bought using wealth. Thank you 🙂
Your photos are amazing! I hope you keep blogging so people like me (who cannot travel as easily) can live vicariously through you. Thanks!
I will be pleased to share more of my travel photos. . .I hope I am not running out of good photos. Thank you 🙂
Reblogged this on Spiritual challenges .
Many thanks for reblogging this on 🙂
I was reminded of a recent trip to Portugal, I took a historical tour of the Algarve and our very astute tour guide told us to cast our eyes to the right up ahead for the American Embassy as we passed the local McDonalds Restaurant! You are right, we, all of us need to heed the signs!
We are what we eat; so beware! Thank you 🙂
Interesting observation, I had no idea that was happening, there. It’s especially true of fast food, my goodness Kentucky is one of the worst. I’m so sad that his happening there. Lots of people in the US are finally starting to get educated on processed food and moving toward healthier eating. Including myself. This is a sobering reality. Shazza
Hi Shazza, the world seems to need better education as to what food is good for the health and to the environment. Thanks for the comment 🙂
Urbanization should not be equal to fast and processed food. Although sad, such is the case. Never forget what our ancestors eat – real food!
It is indeed sad to eat more and more meat and processed food.. . . real food and not genetically altered food is becoming rare!
Fast food and obesity! See China is joining the West with the problem. Photo fought back Happy Memories of our tour of China and The Flying Tigers Museum. Is it still there?
Yes, I think we have caught up with the problem. Glad that it brings back happy memories. I haven’t been to the museum but would like to see those WWII planes. I think it is still there. Thank you and have a great week end 🙂
One of the saddest moments for me when travelling around Italy was when I came across the queue for a Venice-based branch of McDonalds stretching three times round the block. This queue passed countless delicious local restaurants and food outlets that were cheaper, better for you, supported the local industry and used some of the freshest ingredients I have ever had the pleasure of trying. It was a pretty grim sight, especially as rather than being tourists the majority of customer were locals. Needless to say, I did not partake.
I must say the global food chain restaurants selling their fast food have good strategies, marketing and are able to offer relatively inexpensive food. This is where developing countries are caught. Thanks for the perusal and the comment 🙂
It is a sad thing that they are turning to the western way of eating. Eating traditional food prepared in traditional ways has been proven to be beneficial health-wise.
Hi Colline, you are right; but people in developing countries are attracted to western food not knowing their drawback. Thanks for the kind comment 🙂
We simply have to take time to prepare more of our food at home, that will help with some of the problem. Nothing wrong with eating out once in while, just make healthier choices–even at Mickey Dee’s and hold them down to no more than once a week!
Hi Marcia, good suggestion! Thanks for the perusal and the comment 🙂
Awesome picture ,great reflection on our changing time.Materialism is part of manipulating the young generations to accept the fast food tyranny all over the world.I am pleased you are following my blog.Greetings.Jalal Michael
To some developing countries, eating fast food seem to be a modern trendy thing. People have less and less time to prepare their won food. Thanks for the perusal and the comment 🙂 Have a great week!
How will we get away from all this fast food .. but I have to admit that I can enjoy KFC once in while, we don’t have them in Sweden. Great post and great choice of photo .
Hi Viveka, having fast food once in a while is OK. Thanks again for your continued support 🙂
ha ha and there is that Kentucky Fried Chicken sign. Yes, the sign is clear…
Hope I have not been too serious with this post; am glad many readers feel the same. Thanks for the comment 🙂
Not too serious. I had a European friend doing business in China. He said that he was always being taken out to KFC when he was there. Sad, because when you visit a country, you really should be trying to eat their cuisine. That’s part of the fun of traveling.
Just wonder why they didn’t take your friend to try things like Dim Sums. many people like me would like to try the local cuisine. Many thanks for the comment 🙂
This is a great post…beautiful picture and beautiful lesson learned. indeed, fast food like KFC is growing like hot fire in China. It even made changes to certain items to fit the taste of the Chinese people.
One good thing is that the West have already learned their lessons on fast food; hope the Chinese are more alert on this, reducing the impacts of such food. regards, Michael
First Good Morning Micheal.
Second, I agree. Even though I love fried chicken, one must eat well and exercise. Good advice.
Phyllis
Good morning, Phyllis. I love chicken too but must be cooked in a healthy manner. Thank you 🙂
I know. I know, but sometimes I’m weak.
Good news is I’m not weak often. ;0)
Eating fast food once for a while is OK; sometimes, I just go in for fresh juice. Many thanks for the comment 🙂
As a vegetarian, fast food isn’t a temptation in any way for me. I can’t even stand the smell in those places. It’s one of those North American exports that you could do without. I’m not a picture of perfect health, but good food choices are abundant and there’s no reason to poison your body with junk except laziness. Good/healthy food takes longer to prepare……fast food is by definition fast.
Well said, Boomdeeadda. While I am not a vegetarian, I am taking a lot of vegetables now. You are right, we should allocate more time in preparing our food, based on healthy ingredients. Thank you and regards, Michael
A profound interpretation of a KFC sign, one that I whole heartedly agree with and also try to live by. Thank you.
While the west is toning down on taking fast food, it appears that they are becoming more popular in the developing countries. Glad you try to live by. Thank you 🙂
I traveled to Hong Kong in the ’80s. I remember being surprised when I saw a bunch of school kids coming out of a McDonalds eating burgers at 8 AM. I found it sad, as I had naively hoped that there were at least some parts of the world that would be able to resist the onslaught of processed foods. Instead, I see that other food chains have begun working their way to the East. I certainly hope that people there can take to heart your sage advice, and avoid the worst of the health pitfalls we have in the West.
Here, it seems everything coming from the West must be good, quality guaranteed, comfortable, trendy etc, these have lured a lot of people into fat food. Hope people can learn from the pitfalls in the west also. Thanks for the kind comment 🙂
I’m totally with you on this one. It’s just sad that processed/instant food becomes more accessible and affordable thereby highly preferred by the consuming public…
You are right, fast food seems to be trendy, convenient and have appeal to the general public; think education of the masses is required. Thank you 🙂
The question is, how can we make good food attractive? I love most foods and admit that when I was younger I enjoyed too much bad food. Now I spend a lot of time trying to focus on eating good food. Perhaps in schools we should be creating more gardens, teaching children about how to create good meals, develop a love for fresh produce and a better understanding of where our food really comes from. Teachers try to teach about healthy food but then children go for lunch and most school cafeteria and home packed lunches are a health disaster! The message needs to be consistent and sadly it isn’t. Back to the days of home grown backyard gardens I say!
Unfortunately, time seems to be more valuable now and many people have to quickly take a bite. I agree with what you suggested but urbanization means that fewer and fewer of us have a garden in the urban areas. Anyway, thank you for your valuable comment 🙂
I can’t remember where I saw it but I remember a photo where a building was designed for an urban area and it had plants growing in rows up the side of the building. It was like having large outside window boxes of herbs and vegetables. It is sad how we provide little or no place for nature when building. In the end we are destroying ourselves.
Hi, I also have a photo where a building is covered with plotted plants all over ( see https://retireediary.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/weekly-photo-challenge-home/). We should soften the outlooks of buildings by introducing plants on the façades which can be irrigated with an automatic irrigation system. Regards, Michael
Wow, talk about excellent branding – I mean, sticks out a mile!
Yes, the US based global companies usually have excellent marketing strategy. Thank you 🙂