Soaring levels of obesity in the Western world are expected to trigger an infertility crisis among women, according the The Guardian (September 21st, 2007).
It seems that one in fifteen women have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (Ah! another syndrome – Ed.), an excess of male hormones that cause cysts to grow on the ovaries, and which is exacerbated by excess weight.
This comment is bound to elicit furious comment from some people, but shouldn’t we welcome a decrease in the birth-rate, from whatever cause? The world is over-populated, and nature is having its say, its blow-back. Epicureans seek peace of mind, and the more people there are the harder it is to find it.
My Epicurean tolerance, ever fragile, is strained to find compassion for those over-weight owing to self-indulgence (genetics is another matter) . I regret I have the failing of weightism.
The idea that anyone and everyone should have children as some sort of human right is preposterous. Regrettably, it is something promoted by all the major religions and is counter to common sense. On the other hand, nobody ever associated belief in the supernatural with common sense.
Oh, but it’s not beleif in the supernatural, not at all. People don’t have children because of beliefs. They have children because Mr. Darwin says they have too. Don’t blame the supernatural for this.