A cura di @Perodatrent.

Secondo il Guardian, l’agenzia sanitaria nazionale Tailandese ha in corso un progetto pilota per far dimagrire i monaci buddisti locali.

In genere, nonostante l’iconografia popolare che li rappresenta come si immaginava fosse l’Illuminato, fino a poco fa i monaci riuscivano a mantenere un fisico asciutto aderendo alla prescrizione di digiunare dal pomeriggio alla mattina successiva. Ma ora la tradizione di offrire cibo come elemosina

…  every morning as a way to accumulate karma for this life and the next has precipitated an obesity crisis amongst the clergy. The food and drinks they consume every morning is so unhealthy the number of overweight and unhealthy monks now exceeds the national average, with a 45% rate of obesity, 6.5% rate of diabetes and extremely high rates of heart disease and high cholesterol.

Modern lifestyles and high sugar foods have been blamed. Monks have no choice but to eat the food that is donated, and it is traditional for people to donate their favourite foods, or the favourite foods of their dead relatives, meaning that puddings and sweets feature heavily in monks’ diets.

Un altro problema che contribuisce all’epidemia di obesità sono le prescrizioni che proibiscono di portare scarpe e di evitare le vanità.

“Monks should exercise but it is difficult for us,” he said. “You can exercise to promote your health but not to make your body muscly like a boxer. You cannot do weight lifting and you cannot jog, that is not proper, only fast walking or maybe a walking meditation. Yoga can also be fine, but not in public.