Too thick Thai monks

Health Authority worried about the health of the monks of Thailand

08/01/2012

The monks in Thailand have on average clearly too big bellies. According to media reports, the health authority of the country has now turned on and the population is encouraged to pay attention to healthier food in their offerings.

Most people are thinking of Thai monks, ascetic bodies in mind, who point to deficiency symptoms rather than weight issues. However, a recent study by the Thai National Board of Health has revealed that many monks are too fat and are struggling with health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or gastric ulcers in light of the existing excess weight.

Food of the monks too fatty and sugary
The nutrition plan of the Thai monks is conceivably simple. They eat what people put in their offering bowls. However, since the donated food is often high in fat and sugary, many of Thailand's monks are suffering from weight issues. The health authority of the country apparently does not want to accept this any longer and has therefore appealed to the population to pay more attention to healthy food during the donations. During the morning, the Buddhist monks walk the streets with their offering bowls and usually receive freshly cooked food from the faithful. Actually, most donors like it very well with the monks and therefore serve them real calorie bombs. They hope that the generous donation will have a positive effect on their karma. In fact, the donated food brings some problems for the monks.

Almost half of the Thai monks are too fat
According to the Thai Health Promotion Agency, when investigating 246 clergy, 45 percent are too fat. In addition, 40 percent of monks have typical diet-related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, gastric ulcers or allergies. The unhealthy donated food makes the monks sick and fat, so the conclusion of the experts. The population is therefore encouraged to think more of their mild gifts to the health of the monks. In terms of karma, more can probably be achieved if the monks do not fall ill as a result of the donations. All believers are encouraged to donate healthier food to the monks in the future.

Daily fasting as a cause of overweight?
However, according to the authorities, the monks themselves must make a contribution to their health. For example, a reduction in lemonade consumption is needed here. During the daily fasting of Thai monks from noon until the following morning, many of the ministers try to suppress the feeling of hunger with lemonade and other sugary soft drinks, with a correspondingly negative effect on their health. Also, 43 percent of the monks said they only smoke for that reason. The actually positive health effect of fasting is often reversed by the Thai monks. With therapeutic fasting, the practice of the clerics of Thailand at this point has virtually nothing in common. (Fp)

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