ORAL INTERVIEW
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TEXT B1
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l'entrevista. No et preocupis si hi ha paraulas o frases que no entens bé; es
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The World gets Fatter
From Newsweek January 2003
As high-calorie American -style diets replace traditional foods, obesity and
other food-related disorders are becoming a global epidemic.
Greasy burgers and processed food may be the most insidious forms of
American cultural imperialism. A taste for American fast-food products like
McDonald's hamburgers and Coca-Cola has long been fashionable.
Urbanization is leading to a more sedentary lifestyle in many places. And more
and more traditional foods are being prepared from processed flour and other
ingredients that have more calories and less healthy fibre.
Nobody ever thought resisting the export of American diets would be easy. But
the trend has turned out to be more widespread than previously thought. It's
very easy to blame globalization, or the big brands like Coca-Cola or
McDonalds but the problem goes much deeper. Not only diet has changed.
People in both developed and developing countries are also doing less and
less physical activity. Rather than riding their bicycles and working in the
fields, people sit on assembly lines, ride in cars and spend their free time
watching television. Even in China 95% of households have a T.V. set.
Unfortunately, obesity and all the illnesses it brings affect the poor more. Highcaloric junk food is cheap enough to afford even on a low income. The
popularity of Western style food has led to an alarming trend: obese parents
and undernourished children living under the same roof. It's a very attractive
lifestyle, but it's killing people.
insidious = dangerous, but happening without people noticing
alarming = very worrying