Of Penguins, Marathons, Obesity and Lunch

The Times reports that Penguins from the largest colony on mainland South America are being forced to swim the equivalent of two marathons farther to find food because of the effects of climate change. The survival of the Magellanic penguin colony at Punta Tombo, on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, is being threatened by the increasing distances the birds must travel to feed themselves and their chicks, research has shown.

Dee Boersma, of the University of Washington in Seattle, said that Punta Tombo penguins were now routinely swimming 25 miles farther on their foraging expeditions than they did a decade ago. “That distance might not sound like much, but they also have to swim another 25 miles back, and they are swimming that extra 50 miles while their mates are back at the breeding grounds, sitting on a nest and starving,” she said.

Now contrast this to the increasing obesity rates in the world. The WHO predicts that there will be 2.3 Billion overweight adults (not counting children) in 2015 and more than 700 Million of them will be obese (BMI > 30). The 2009 figures are > 1 Billion overweight adults of which 300 Million are obese. And just to put it into a medical context, obesity has been linked to :

• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
• Stroke
• Liver and Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
• Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

My point?

Let's try and put this into context. I run marathons as a past-time. Definitely not for food. (There is this Ultramarathon that I run which finishes outside a pub and where the pay-off line is "It's a long way for a drink!", but I digress). The bulk of the field in a marathon runs to stay fit and to keep their cardiovascular system healthy and their weight in check. And no, I couldn''t regularly run two marathons to take food back to my family.

Then there is this part of the population that has a BMI a tad higher than that of the average marathon runner (BMI>30 vs BMI<22).

And finally there is a part of the animal kingdom that due to the climate change at least in part affected by man (the over fishing of the oceans is definitely caused by man and not natural cyclical changes) now has to complete a double marathon just to get food?

So call me a cynic, but here I am running marathons for fun, there are people who consume too many calories and then there is the poor penguin who has to do the double marathon to eat (no gorging mind you - the family still has to be fed when he returns home). Strange justice in this ecosystem we call earth.