I love watching the Olympics, especially final competitions for Pairs Free Skating and Short-Track Speed Skating. There is a very touching story behind Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, the free skating gold medallists: having been partners on ice for nearly 18 years, the happily married couple retired in 2007, but made a glorious return to the Vancouver Olympics with a mean age of 33.5 to glide in Adagio in G Minor and claim their well-deserved gold medal.

I dislike the Olympics as a medium for promoting the consumption of junk food. As there are numerous factors associated with individual input/output differences in energy storage and utilisation, by no means am I suggesting that the consumption of junk food is the sole cause of obesity. However, junk food that is quickly delivered, cheaply produced, and heavily marketed to viewers in the name of sport is unacceptable and is a significant threat to the health of the population. The encouragement of consuming such food items through the association of such products with the Olympics would likely increase the incidence of obesity and result in poorer quality of life for the population.

As most of us are aware, the Obesity epidemic is ravaging through North America and much of the developed world. Evidently, obesity is a major contributor to the current leading causes of death, including heart disease and stroke. Take the following figure from the United States, for example, where the incidence of Obesity has risen and continues to do so at an alarming rate:

Fundamental Principles of Olympism

According to the Olympic Charter:

Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles…

Both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are major sponsors of the Olympics.

When advertisements from such corporations are fed to millions of unsuspecting viewers on television every 15 minutes during the Opening Ceremony, every 7 minutes during the pairs free skating competition, every 2 minutes during clips of news briefing or highlights of the Olympics, Olympism cannot be accepted as valid philosophy of life.

I struggle with distinguishing Olympism from its corporate cousins. I question this “philosophy” of life — a McMeal and can of Coke with its artery-clogging, hypertension-causing, teeth-rotting goodies. I worry for the flawed logic in combating diseases of affluence, where mountains of cash are spent and health care resources drained while Ronald McDonald mingles with Ilanaaq, Sumi, Quatchi, and Miga in urging the population to become more obese.

Indeed, this is “blending sport with culture and education” at its best. The same cannot be said about “respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”