There is a time before traveling
where you spend a lot of time dreaming about far away countries with freckles
in your eyes. When this time comes to an end the most exalting part can begin:
you have to make your own route around the world. It is far from easy because
the project himself should build the route and not the opposite.
I shaped my path after spending many hours on the internet looking for data about obesity in multiple countries in the world: First to analyze the obesity rate in different places (Governmental website, Index Mundi…) and secondly to understand if obesity was a real issue in the country despite of the rate (Pub med, Google Scholar…).
My first step will be to do a therapeutic fasting in Bulgaria and then cross Turkey, Georgia and Armenia to go to Asia. I will cross Central Asia to understand why the rates are so high and then the South and East Asia. It will be a crucial stage of my trip because this region has the lowest obesity rate in the world. The Japan’s paradox had to stand on my route because the obesity is controlled and theoretically “illegal” while Sumos are deified.
A long stop in New Zealand will teach
me more about the huge obesity rates present in the pacific islands. It will also give me the
opportunity to work there with a working holiday visa.
Afterwards, I will continue my
awareness campaign in South America where the fight against obesity rages since
years due to the sharp increase in the number of
obese people.
Finally, I will go across Mexico
(1st rank in the percentage of obesity) and the United States (1st
rank in the number of obese people) to arrive in Canada where I discovered obesity.
Here you can check a quick
summary of my timetable around the world followed by the percentage of obese
people in each country.
Country
|
Estimated time (days)
|
Obesity (%)
|
Bulgaria
|
25
|
20
|
Turkey
|
20
|
27
|
Georgia
|
15
|
24
|
Armenia
|
18
|
22
|
Total Europe
|
78
|
|
Kazakhstan
|
14
|
23.7
|
Kyrgyzstan
|
20
|
15.5
|
India
|
30
|
1.2
|
Nepal
|
20
|
1.4
|
Burma
|
28
|
4
|
Thailand
|
25
|
8.8
|
Cambodia
|
25
|
2.1
|
Laos
|
20
|
2.6
|
Vietnam
|
35
|
1.6
|
Malaysia
|
20
|
15
|
Japan
|
35
|
5
|
Total Asia
|
272
|
|
New Zealand
|
200
|
30
|
Argentina
|
40
|
29
|
Chile
|
40
|
29
|
Bolivia
|
35
|
18
|
Peru
|
40
|
16
|
Total South America
|
155
|
|
Mexico
|
40
|
32.8
|
United States
|
40
|
31.8
|
Canada
|
40
|
26
|
Total North America
|
120
|
|
Total World
|
825=2 years and 6 months
|
The time in each country may seem important but it is for me the minimum to really dive into the culture. I need to get closer to local organizations and to interview enough people!
In one word it is necessary to accomplish my project!
To see more clearly the differences between the countries, you can check the graph below.