4 ms·

Counterpoint: there's a whole civilization on the western/USA diet, which has been shown to not be that great for your health (see e.g. obesity rates).

arcturus17 6y ago
Counterpoint to your counterpoint, there are also whole civilizations in the Western world, for ex, the peoples of Southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Greece) who are total omnivores and boast some of the highest life expectancy rates in the whole world. They don't eat a magical "Mediterranean" diet or other such nonsense: most people will eat a wide variety of things, from vegetables, to fatty processed foods like cheese and sausage. My point is I don't think there is a single "Western" diet with distinct health outcomes (just like the "Mediterranean" diet is also a myth).
- cambalache 6y ago
  You are gladly ignoring lots of differences in the diet between Southern Europe and the US. From the size of portions, to the prevalence to HFCS in the American diet, the dramatic difference in consumption of things like olive oil, wine, or beer , the consumption of soft drinks with the main meals of the day, etc. Americans consume signifcantly more Coca Cola than say the Italians, Spaniards or French. Guess what happens then? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828681/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828681/ > Results. Soft drink consumption increased globally from 9.5 gallons per person per year in 1997 to 11.4 gallons in 2010. A 1% rise in soft drink consumption was associated with an additional 4.8 overweight adults per 100 (adjusted B; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.1, 6.5), 2.3 obese adults per 100 (95% CI = 1.1, 3.5), and 0.3 adults with diabetes per 100 (95% CI = 0.1, 0.8). These findings remained robust in low- and middle-income countries.
  - arcturus17 6y ago
    I’m not, I’m well aware that around these parts they don’t sell gallon-buckets of soda in gas stations... I was just pointing out how you mentioned “Western” diet, but I don’t think that’s a thing.

arcturus17 6y ago

Counterpoint to your counterpoint, there are also whole civilizations in the Western world, for ex, the peoples of Southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Greece) who are total omnivores and boast some of the highest life expectancy rates in the whole world. They don't eat a magical "Mediterranean" diet or other such nonsense: most people will eat a wide variety of things, from vegetables, to fatty processed foods like cheese and sausage. My point is I don't think there is a single "Western" diet with distinct health outcomes (just like the "Mediterranean" diet is also a myth).

cambalache 6y ago
You are gladly ignoring lots of differences in the diet between Southern Europe and the US. From the size of portions, to the prevalence to HFCS in the American diet, the dramatic difference in consumption of things like olive oil, wine, or beer , the consumption of soft drinks with the main meals of the day, etc. Americans consume signifcantly more Coca Cola than say the Italians, Spaniards or French. Guess what happens then? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828681/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828681/ > Results. Soft drink consumption increased globally from 9.5 gallons per person per year in 1997 to 11.4 gallons in 2010. A 1% rise in soft drink consumption was associated with an additional 4.8 overweight adults per 100 (adjusted B; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.1, 6.5), 2.3 obese adults per 100 (95% CI = 1.1, 3.5), and 0.3 adults with diabetes per 100 (95% CI = 0.1, 0.8). These findings remained robust in low- and middle-income countries.
- arcturus17 6y ago
  I’m not, I’m well aware that around these parts they don’t sell gallon-buckets of soda in gas stations... I was just pointing out how you mentioned “Western” diet, but I don’t think that’s a thing.