Suchergebnisse

The standard meaning of democracy—a system of governance by the people, for the people, and of the people—has become a debatable narrative. The hesitation to enlarge the scope of democracy to all its beneficiaries or citizens is a major reason for several arguments on democracy. Israel, being a country in the Middle East wherein democracy has not yet been accepted as a mechanism of governance, makes an interesting case to be explored. Its history of democracy and dynamics is unique and has received much theoretical attention. The quintessence of the new argumentations on democracy is "will to democracy" on the part of all citizens in the sense that the will of the people constitutes a decisive factor in making democracy a system for everyone in inclusive form or unmaking democracy as a system for everyone in exclusive form as witnessed in most of the liberal democracies. One can observe that Israel as a society has the will to make the political system inclusive, given its treatment of various Jewish groups who came from different backgrounds and became part of a larger cultural and political society. This has to be and can be extended to the minority, which has the same emotional affiliation to geography and history.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this review is to examine the demographic and nutrition transition in India in relation to its contribution to the emerging epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases in this country. SETTING: India, the country as a whole and its different states with a population exceeding 1 billion in 2001. SUBJECTS: The review examines demographic changes in the population with consequent effects on the population pyramid, the rapidity and rates of urbanisation with striking variations in chronic disease patterns and the trends in obesity between rural and urban communities, attempting to relate their prevalence with the diet and lifestyle changes accompanying them. DESIGN: The review is based largely on representative large-scale surveys in the country and other reliable documented data on population characteristics. It also includes a review of the published literature. RESULTS: The results indicate that the demographic changes, rates of urbanisation and changes in dietary patterns are contributing to the changing trends in chronic disease in India. CONCLUSIONS: There is clear evidence of a demographic, epidemiological and nutrition transition in India that is fuelling the epidemic of chronic diseases and obesity, particularly in the urban areas.