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I wonder where is all that extra fat coming from? Very counter to my expectations that carbs were most of the increase. I thought in the past people ate slightl

I wonder where is all that extra fat coming from? Very counter to my expectations that carbs were most of the increase. I thought in the past people ate slightly more meat, esp. red meat, full fat dairy etc. I suppose it could reflect the shift from home to restaurant/snack food because when you put a chunk of butter in something you can tell how much it is, but already baked in it tastes like much less.

Gibbon1 7y ago
Insulin causes cells to convert glucose to fat. Liver can convert fructose to fat. Also the amount of glucose in you blood is highly regulated and the amount is 'less than you would assume'. Least as I understand. Probably consuming even moderate amounts of sugar sets off a desperate attempt by the body to stash glucose as fat to keep glucose blood levels normal.
mumblemumble 7y ago
Supposedly it's mostly in the form of vegetable oils. (Consumption of animal origin fats, including butter, is actually down.) Based on that, I could hazard a few guesses: My first would be that a lot of it is that increases in the availability of vegetable fats that are solid at room temperature (originally thanks to hydrogenation, now thanks to more refined palm and coconut oils) means that it's easy for food manufacturers to add more fat to packaged foods without them seeming greasy. There's also the whole "Mediterranean diet" thing fueling the perception that olive oil is a health food and making us feel comfortable drizzling it all over everything we eat. It's perhaps relatively healthy compared to other fats, but it's still darn near the most calorie-dense food possible. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the amount of french fries that get piled on one's plate as a side at restaurants has doubled over the past 50 years. Heck, even avocado toast. Avocados are way more available than they used to be. Everyone thinks of them as a healthy food, but they're chock full of fat.

Gibbon1 7y ago

Insulin causes cells to convert glucose to fat. Liver can convert fructose to fat. Also the amount of glucose in you blood is highly regulated and the amount is 'less than you would assume'. Least as I understand. Probably consuming even moderate amounts of sugar sets off a desperate attempt by the body to stash glucose as fat to keep glucose blood levels normal.

mumblemumble 7y ago

Supposedly it's mostly in the form of vegetable oils. (Consumption of animal origin fats, including butter, is actually down.) Based on that, I could hazard a few guesses: My first would be that a lot of it is that increases in the availability of vegetable fats that are solid at room temperature (originally thanks to hydrogenation, now thanks to more refined palm and coconut oils) means that it's easy for food manufacturers to add more fat to packaged foods without them seeming greasy. There's also the whole "Mediterranean diet" thing fueling the perception that olive oil is a health food and making us feel comfortable drizzling it all over everything we eat. It's perhaps relatively healthy compared to other fats, but it's still darn near the most calorie-dense food possible. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the amount of french fries that get piled on one's plate as a side at restaurants has doubled over the past 50 years. Heck, even avocado toast. Avocados are way more available than they used to be. Everyone thinks of them as a healthy food, but they're chock full of fat.