4 ms·

My pet theory (at least for humans) is that this is due to better dental care.

• hammock 8y ago
  Care to elaborate?
  • jhallenworld 8y ago
    Oral hygiene has been improving over time, see: https://fluoridefree.org.nz/fuoridation-status-countries/countries-fluoridation-graph/ https://fluoridefree.org.nz/fuoridation-status-countries/cou... Perhaps people with the bad oral hygiene of the past had a different gut biome, had more stomach infections, or just had less pain when eating and this led to less calorie absorption.
    • hammock 8y ago
      It's not obvious to me how more cavities leads to less calorie absorption - this is your pet theory can you explain it? In regard to gut biome and stomach infections, there is a lot of evidence that fluoride actively destroys your gut - disturbing the microbiome, breaking down the gut barrier and promoting inflammation - so I'm not sure that part holds water.