A generation fed on hamburgers and french fries...

Since my entry "damn if you do, damn if you don't" about how young and seemingly healthy men collapsed while exercising, there have been at least two more cases of such incidents in recent weeks and both involving young NS men in the SAF.

The latest casualty was only 19. A reader of the Sunday Times wrote to suggest that these casualties were victims of a heart disorder known as arrhythmogenic right-ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), a genetic condition in which the muscle of the right ventricle of the heart turns into fatty or fibrous tissue. He added that ARVD affects about one in 5000 people but may cause up to 20% of sudden cardiac deaths in people under 55. A series of non-invasive tests can determine if one has the disorder (more information on ARVD can be found in ARVD)

My colleagues and I have another theory. We think it maybe due to the food we eat. Fast food to be more precise. After all, such sudden death seems to be pretty uncommon during our parents' time where food are usually cooked and consumed at home. These young people belong to the generation of hamburger-munching kids.

Such death seems to go against the fact that life expectancy for men and women has gone up. According to the Singapore Ministry of Health, the 1998 average life expectancy was 75.2 years for men and 79.3 years for women. Today in 2005, the figure should be higher. So, it really does not make sense when some of my colleagues said that with the kind of life we're leading and the food we're eating, we’d be lucky if you can live past 60. You see, some of my close friends are already in the 48-50 age group. It's depressing to think that there're only 10 or 12 years more to go before hitting the bucket, a sentiment shared by Victor Koo. A lifetime is really short. So little time.... and so much things we want to do ........