“Something important has happened.” Sabrina Giannini then spoke about how changes in our diet have led to an increase in diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, which are now affecting more and more people.
Even as longevity rates are very high, now centenarians “have disorders that their parents did not.” And this happened “in the early days of the Mediterranean diet, which, according to a study by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, constituted the diet of only 5% of Italians.” These are just some of the themes of the first episode of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, the investigative program that starts again on Saturdays at 21.20 on Rai 3.
Giannini and his team returned to Sardinia and Cilento to discover the differences between the old and new generations, with the increase in childhood obesity and the emergence of pathologies among the younger generation since processed foods began to appear on the market. However, we will also discuss antidiabetic drugs that are currently used for weight loss. “These drugs, which are very expensive, have bad consequences for health – explained the journalist –. Some doctors prescribe them lightly even though they have many side effects”.
The drugs were “promoted even by entertainment figures in a subtle way, despite the fact that advertising for these products is not allowed in Italy”, recalls Giannini. However, there is a big interest behind it, as is the case with processed foods.
“When I talk about cooked ham and how cured meat should be avoided – he said – this seems very serious in a country that considers ham almost as an everyday food. You can also criticize the government from morning to night, but the powerful forces are those who pay for advertising. However, Rai as a public service has room for investigation”. And he added: “in ten years I never had twenty or thirty episodes in a year, but in the few episodes I had, people who knew what I was doing always followed me despite changes in the schedule. I never got treated differently depending on who was in government, on the contrary, under Draghi, the lobby guy, I was treated worse. To make people understand the power of the lobby. Politicians are just material implementers, few know that 80% of food is regulated by a handful of companies that they can take our food tomorrow if they want. And these people are all connected to the patented seeds they sell and the pesticides.”
As the obesity epidemic has reached record levels, the program will also try to understand why preventative measures are not being implemented. Epidemiologist Franco Berrino will explain how, with an ideal diet and lifestyle, major pathologies can be avoided. And you will also go to a clinic in Campania where bariatric surgery is practiced.
“When you reach very high levels of obesity, there are two things: either you stop gaining weight and lose weight quickly, or you will definitely get sick – he says -. Just for obesity and the diseases associated with it, we spend about 13 billion a year in health care costs, absence from work and so on. Practically, the money we are fighting for is for the Strait Bridge. We do prevention, we recognize that it is a disease, but there is no medicine that can cure it.”
Reproduction protected by law © Copyright ANSA
