Are you overweight? You're in good company

[frequent]

In June, officials from Thailand's Public Health Department urged laypeople to offer healthier alms to monks, who pour from temples in their saffron robes each morning to roam the streets collecting their meals in the Buddhist tradition. Mr Amporn Bejapolpitak, the department's deputy director-general, also suggested that monks add more physical activity — like cleaning their temples — to their sedentary lives of prayer and meditation.

Obesity has reached alarming levels in Thailand, which ranks as the second-heaviest nation in Asia, after Malaysia. One in three Thai men are obese, while more than 40 per cent of women are significantly overweight, according to Thailand's national health examination survey.

Monks are at the forefront of the problem. Nearly half are obese, according to a study conducted by Chulalongkorn University. More than 40 per cent have high cholesterol, nearly 25 per cent have high blood pressure and one in 10 are diabetic, the study found.

https://www.todayonline.com/world/thailand-obesity-monks-ticking-time-bomb

[a447]

Another good read.

I've heard about the obesity epidemic in Thailand among the general population but can't say I've really noticed it.

And of course, obesity among monks is not unique to Thailand/Asia. Apparently, it was a common problem with monks in Europe in the middle ages. One monastery in Portugal made them walk through a small door in order to enter the dining room. If they couldn't pass through they had to go on a diet.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

[frequent]

One monastery in Portugal made them walk through a small door in order to enter the dining room. If they couldn't pass through they had to go on a diet.Sounds like the alleged HR policy at Singapore Airlines for their "Singapore Girls". They have to maintain the same uniform size the entire span of their employment. I have noticed one or two boys in some bars that I assumed were catering to the chubby-chaser market

[christianpfc]

One monastery in Portugal made them walk through a small door in order to enter the dining room. If they couldn't pass through they had to go on a diet.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Sounds like the "slim-up room" in 39 underground sauna. There are several metal poles, and only slim can fit through. With every year, I have to squeeze more to get in. If I continue gaining weight, I might not make it in a few year's time.

[The more things change, the more they stay the same.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/plus_%C3%A7a_change,_plus_c%27est_la_m%C3%AAme_cho se]