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We've known for decades that cigarettes are addictive. We've known that opiates are addictive. We know that alcohol in excess can be addictive. Loads of people

We've known for decades that cigarettes are addictive. We've known that opiates are addictive. We know that alcohol in excess can be addictive. Loads of people took in that information and never became addicted (at least until the medical industry tricked them into addiction). The information "if you don't want to be addicted don't do the thing that is sure to get you addicted" is very good advice. It is irrefutable advice. Once you're addicted it's an entirely different, much more difficult problem. But it isn't a better understanding of addiction to say "Whoa, look I used heroin at a bunch of parties and now I crave heroin, therefore you shouldn't tell people to not do drugs". It doesn't follow.

sdenton4 5y ago
None of this explains the cross species effects, though. Zoo and lab animals are also seeing a rise in obesity under controlled diets. There's clearly an additional environmental and/or chemical effect involved here.
- defaultname 5y ago
  It isn't clear at all. a) Humans are spectacularly efficient at turning solar energy into bioavailable calories. This impacts virtually every animal. b) Lab and zoo diets have dramatically changed. For instance in the lab there was a change from specific portioned diets to the notion that food should always be provided. Any study that claims that there was some mysterious rise in obesity is simply lying. And again there is a push for controlled, restricted diets because having sedentary rats and mice who can eat whenever they want is yielding unhealthy subjects. c) The study this article links was lead by a guy who is an advisor to Coca-cola, Kraft, Frito-Lay, the Restaurant Association, among others. It is a profoundly corrupt industry, and yeah the notion that some mysterious unknown cause is to blame is convenient in that situation.
- qvq 5y ago
  It's likely there's another factor but no evidence this would cause a human to go from normal BMI to obese on a controlled diet. It seems like the decrease in satiety has a stronger effect.

sdenton4 5y ago

None of this explains the cross species effects, though. Zoo and lab animals are also seeing a rise in obesity under controlled diets. There's clearly an additional environmental and/or chemical effect involved here.

defaultname 5y ago
It isn't clear at all. a) Humans are spectacularly efficient at turning solar energy into bioavailable calories. This impacts virtually every animal. b) Lab and zoo diets have dramatically changed. For instance in the lab there was a change from specific portioned diets to the notion that food should always be provided. Any study that claims that there was some mysterious rise in obesity is simply lying. And again there is a push for controlled, restricted diets because having sedentary rats and mice who can eat whenever they want is yielding unhealthy subjects. c) The study this article links was lead by a guy who is an advisor to Coca-cola, Kraft, Frito-Lay, the Restaurant Association, among others. It is a profoundly corrupt industry, and yeah the notion that some mysterious unknown cause is to blame is convenient in that situation.
qvq 5y ago
It's likely there's another factor but no evidence this would cause a human to go from normal BMI to obese on a controlled diet. It seems like the decrease in satiety has a stronger effect.