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If you look at the timing of the obesity epidemic you notice that it has a very sharp “knee” in the US around the 1970s. It does not coincide with the introduct
by matthewdgreen 5y ago
If you look at the timing of the obesity epidemic you notice that it has a very sharp “knee” in the US around the 1970s. It does not coincide with the introduction of fast food or the automobile or sedentary living, and contemporary people exercise more in many cases than they did in the 60s and 70s, with vastly higher BMI as a result. The same pattern occurs in other countries just at later times. And the effect size is huge. Much larger than anything we can achieve with diet and exercise (durably) or even the best weight loss drugs. I don’t know what’s causing it, but “gosh people eat poorly” doesn’t seem like a good explanation. I thought this was a good (amateur, but accessible) summary of some of the stats: https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2021/07/07/a-chemical-hunger-part-i-mysteries/amp/ https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2021/07/07/a-chemical-hunger-p...
- lenocinor 5y agoThis is a startling and very interesting article. Thank you!
- DoreenMichele 5y agoI don’t know what’s causing it, but “gosh people eat poorly” doesn’t seem like a good explanation. I'm not sure what your point is because what I said boils down to "There seem to be multiple factors, not any one thing." I've lost multiple dress sizes by improving my health when losing weight wasn't a goal at all. Among other things, that experience informs my views and I don't really know how to engage whatever point you are trying to make that seems to not really engage with anything I actually said. But thank you for the link. It's got a take I hadn't previously seen.
- matthewdgreen 5y agoMe too. But fundamentally I’ve never consistently long-term kept my weight below where my body seems to want it. Enjoy that link. I think they’re right in the early parts but maybe they don’t quite land it at the end.
- maxerickson 5y agoAvailable calories went way up (and so did disposable income): https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/91/5/1530S/4597478 https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/91/5/1530S/4597478 Of course availability is not a perfect proxy for consumption, but they are probably somewhat related. And people got more sedentary over the same period.
- philwelch 5y agoThat’s exactly when health experts and the government started to heavily promote the low fat diet.
- scns 5y ago> “gosh people eat poorly” doesn’t seem like a good explanation. Maybe they drink poorly? One guy shown in Super Size Me drank 8 litres of soda a day IIRC. The body has no use for fructose, it can only be converted in the liver to fat. You can even get a fatty liver from it, like with too much alcohol. Soda is usually sweetend with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) no?
- maxerickson 5y agoFructose is converted into glycogen in the liver, which is then converted into glucose or fat, the body uses fructose just fine. Regularly consuming 5000 calories of anything sugary or starchy is going to be a problem for most people.