General

It's no secret, with our sedentary lifestyles and jobs and the prevalence of fast food and processed food, that humanity is on its way to becoming fatter and softer as a whole. My own home nation of Ireland is set to become the fattest country in Europe within a decade, with childhood obesity in particular being on the rise. So, with these trends in mind, here's how I predict our world will change in the near future...

1. With an increase in automation and sedentary jobs, we will definitely grow fatter. Whether we will all be morbidly obese or simply a bit tubby remains to be seen.

2. Processed foods will become more and more prevalent, with "real" food growing increasingly rare in our diets as we subsist on fatty, chemical-filled foodstuffs.

3. Our kids in particular will grow fatter at an astonishing rate. I wouldn't be surprised if the average kid's BMI increased to something like 25-35.

4. As we grow larger, our standards of beauty and attractiveness will change to accommodate this.

5. Advances in medical science will either eradicate obesity-related maladies, or make them far more manageable.

Any other predictions?

Perhaps climate change will render us unable to grow crops, so we'll be forced to turn to completely synthesised food -- the kind of food that's packed to the brim with fat, sugar and chemicals.

In 2016, a 15-year-old girl is usually thin, outgoing and lively. She disobeys her parents, goes off with boys and her friends, and generally does a lot of active stuff.

In 2036, a 15-year-old girl will be so fat, lazy and full of chemicals and sugar that she'll be unwilling to do anything in her spare time that doesn't involve snacking on heavily processed food and/or staring dully at a screen.

I'unno, I can honestly say I'd find it appealing.