Cola Vada

We live in a land of contrasts scary. On the one hand, we have the largest epidemic in a nation of people suffering from malnutrition. On the other hand, it will soon be the largest epidemic in every nation of obese people and diabetics who are prone to kidney problems, eyes, nervous system, or other body parts while consuming junk served by the fast foods that have been raised across the country.

In India on one side, millions die because they simply can not afford one square meals a day and the other Indians with lots of money to kill himself by eating high calorie, high fat dishes that go by the name of fast food. (In fact, it is best to call junk food rather than fast food at least in India. It is faster than the traditional Idli, Vada, Dosa, samosa, pakoda or cat in our shops and stalls in fact it is slower).

The most important question is how these giants of the multinational fast it makes foray into India. When the economy was liberalized, these multinationals have seized the golden opportunity. It was a classic situation where urban Indians, the money, but you do not have the avenue to spend money. Therefore, the fast food culture has stormed India. They marketed the product really well, roped in Bollywood star famous cricketers and their advertising campaigns. Indians living in cities have completely forgotten their traditional Indian cuisine and took to the "Western" culture of fast food. A survey by a major Indian newspaper said that more than 23 percent of obese children in Delhi. It is hoped that this estimate is not true, if it is, one shudders to think of numbers in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Gurgaon and other cities with a rich new culture center and rapid force attractions of fast food.

Here is a typical scene of a shopping center in Hyderabad, for example. It has a multiplex cinema 4, surrounded by 40-odd fast food kiosks and 20-odd shops that sell clothes, perfume and jewelry, music and video CDs and DVDs. Not one of them sells traditional Indian meals or snacks. And the mall, like 20 others in the city, is filled with thousands of young people who obviously have enough to spend. We did not have such scenes in India twenty years ago, but this mall and fast food culture is expanding explosively across India. This too is part of the globalization of India, a party who causes great concern about the health of its citizens.

The research firm recently surveyed 13 countries on their eating habits and health, particularly fast food culture and obesity. The results show that the nation's number one fast food in the world is the United Kingdom. About 45 percent of the population in the United Kingdom are eating fast food, and say "I love the taste of fast food too much to give up." Then came the Americans and Canadians with 44 to 37 percent. At the other end of the scale are the French. A full 81 percent of them reject fast food, as well as 71 percent of Singaporeans. These two countries are too globalized, developed countries, yet their people reject fast food. We only had 15 percent of obese Indians, not just overweight. In 1980, it jumped to 27 percent in 2000. Where would urban India, one that encourages and is proud of globalization, as being? With the United Kingdom and the United States or France, China and Singapore? The choice is ours.

A 12 oz (340 ml) of Coca-Cola provides 155 calories, and a small portion of French fries McDonald's has 210 calories and as much as 15g total fat (and the bad, the trans fat, 4g form of this amount) . More often than not, these are eaten as snacks and not eating, and thus add to the calorie and fat content, thus contributing to obesity and health problems.

Compare them with Indian snacks and 'Tiffin. A medium sized idli Cal has 70 and 0.2 grams, a plain dosa 140 cal and 5 grams of fat (hence a set dosa dosa or steam.