Scope, on 4 Nov 2008, 10:07, said:
Actually, there has never existed a purely socialistic nor a purely capitalistic country in history (the nearest to the former is perhaps Cuba but even then there was some private ownership). Both economic systems on their own have their own flaws and most modern economies are a hybrid of the two systems varying from strong liberalism as seen in the States currently to the Social Democracies that exist in Scandinavian countries.
Does North Korea count? Uh, strike that one. It has a
totalitarian regime.
Scope, on 4 Nov 2008, 10:07, said:
Anyway, back on topic, I believe this depends on how far a developing country is along the "development" scale. As long as country "X" has food security, there will tend to be some more obesity. However, this leads to an increased demand for food which will strain the available resources for other sectors of the economy such as industries. Furthermore, as others have mentioned, more obesity leads to a more costly healthcare program since there will be more and more cases of heart attack and the like. To reduce this obesity, the government will have to create an awareness campaign which will also cost money.
So you mean to say that a certain country has "food security", there's a large possibility that people with more money (and with more "food desire") can buy far more Snickers than others?
(/stops typing and hurries to a nearest store to buy a Snickers bar).
Scope, on 4 Nov 2008, 10:07, said:
...Simply put, obesity is a burden on any economy especially the developing nations that are on the verge of being considered developed countries.
If a>b, and c>b, then a=b?
No, I do not think obesity
directly is a hindrance to any economy. Obesity is a product of luxury, which, luxury is basically not a main factor in an economy.
Rather, obesity is a hindrance to health of the citizens, which can lead to heart failures (or stroke), and can reduce a nation's population (provided if the death rate is high). A low population can be a serious headache to a country (low quantity of labor, anyone?)
Edited by The Wandering Jew, 07 November 2008 - 05:05.