Blaming Food for Obesity Is Like Blaming Water for Drowning

realclearwire.com

4 points·richrichie··4 comments

Another simplistic take on a complex multifaceted problem. ”… it’s not that you eat too much, it’s that you’re lazy…” I’ve spent 30 years caring for diabetics and obese patients. Yes food is a contributing factor, yes exercise (lack of) is a contributing factor. So are hereditary factors, gut microbiota and societal stressors. My message is not that there is no hope, it’s just not easy and simple.

The increased use of pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics, hormone additives, corn syrup and the multitude of food colors and taste "tweaks" potentially affect body's ability to process food components as in the past.

The nutrition labels on most foods run to 20+ entries -- doesn't that suggest that foods are not as pure as in the past?

When grocery shopping I can't help notice the stark differences between trolley contents of slim and obese shoppers.

This got me thinking, just looking at the number of entries on the nutrition label seems maybe a little misleading? Most natural "whole" ingredients would have hundreds of entries if you had to list all the constituent substances individually. How many different chemical compounds are there in an apple or an egg or a hazelnut or a cut of beef? In that sense, foods constructed in a lab entirely from stock proteins, carbs, food dyes, flavorings, etc, would be "purer" than home-cooked farm-to-table meals.

Not that that makes them better (I think they're clearly not) but it calls into question the appropriateness of "purity" as a metric. I'm mostly just musing out loud here.

Good point.

If an insect makes something its called natural (honey?). If a human makes it, its called artificial. Meaning humans are supra-natural?

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