A Cultural History of Fat • Hacker News Board

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#21

Post by pygy_ » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 12:59 PM UTC

stdbrouw wrote: post #13

pygy_ wrote: post #5

A company that produces food that is more appetizing and less filling than its competitors will sell more of it and beat them in terms of revenue and profit. They either have to align themselves or die/be assimilated. Even without any ill intent, growth seeking in the food industry would have lead to an obesity epidemics. https://soundcloud.com/user-876103472/grow

If I eat a snickers bar and afterwards I'm still hungry, I'm not necessarily going to eat another snickers bar. If I eat a very flavorful salad but perhaps am not feeling quite satiated, next time I'm not necessarily going to order the competitor's product that is drenched in olive oil. I'm sure there is some truth to these sorts of "survival of the fittest" arguments, but you can only simplify how people reason abou…

I'll put it aletrnatively:

Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats?

How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#22

Post by titanix2 » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 1:19 PM UTC

pygy_ wrote: post #21

stdbrouw wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I eat a snickers bar and afterwards I'm still hungry, I'm not necessarily going to eat another snickers bar. If I eat a very flavorful salad but perhaps am not feeling quite satiated, next time I'm not necessarily going to order the competitor's product that is drenched in olive oil. I'm sure there is some truth to these sorts of "survival of the fittest" arguments, but you can only simplify how people reason abou…

I'll put it aletrnatively: Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats? How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

Laziness. Supermarkets still sell raw food (vegetables, meat, etc) that can be used for cooking. But it takes time and effort to do it (+washing) so buying already made but unhealthy dishes is appealing for a lot of people.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#23

Post by pygy_ » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 1:23 PM UTC

titanix2 wrote: post #22

pygy_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll put it aletrnatively: Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats? How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

Laziness. Supermarkets still sell raw food (vegetables, meat, etc) that can be used for cooking. But it takes time and effort to do it (+washing) so buying already made but unhealthy dishes is appealing for a lot of people.

That explains why we buy ready-made meals, but not why we buy unhealthy rather than healthy ones.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#24

Post by rayiner » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 1:30 PM UTC

titanix2 wrote: post #22

pygy_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll put it aletrnatively: Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats? How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

Laziness. Supermarkets still sell raw food (vegetables, meat, etc) that can be used for cooking. But it takes time and effort to do it (+washing) so buying already made but unhealthy dishes is appealing for a lot of people.

But why are the ready made meals unhealthy? It’s not because they’re ready made rather than fresh cooked.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#25

Post by HappyRobot » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 1:36 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #24

titanix2 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laziness. Supermarkets still sell raw food (vegetables, meat, etc) that can be used for cooking. But it takes time and effort to do it (+washing) so buying already made but unhealthy dishes is appealing for a lot of people.

But why are the ready made meals unhealthy? It’s not because they’re ready made rather than fresh cooked.

Ready made meals are usually higher in sodium and fats than fresh cooked meals.

Edit - https://www.consumerreports.org/food-shopping/supermarket-pr... The article doesn't call out higher amounts of fat in prepared food, but does mention higher cost and added preservatives.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#26

Post by jodrellblank » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 1:53 PM UTC

titanix2 wrote: post #22

pygy_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll put it aletrnatively: Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats? How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

Laziness. Supermarkets still sell raw food (vegetables, meat, etc) that can be used for cooking. But it takes time and effort to do it (+washing) so buying already made but unhealthy dishes is appealing for a lot of people.

"Laziness" - non-explanation word is not an explanation.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#27

Post by vonmoltke » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

pygy_ wrote: post #21

stdbrouw wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I eat a snickers bar and afterwards I'm still hungry, I'm not necessarily going to eat another snickers bar. If I eat a very flavorful salad but perhaps am not feeling quite satiated, next time I'm not necessarily going to order the competitor's product that is drenched in olive oil. I'm sure there is some truth to these sorts of "survival of the fittest" arguments, but you can only simplify how people reason abou…

I'll put it aletrnatively: Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats? How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

> How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

- Extremely high levels of food security in developed nations. It's hard to get fat when food isn't available.

- Related, nutritionally-questionable food products that were used to achieve this food security (primarily mass-preserved and processed foods).

- A transition from jobs requiring large amounts of physical labor to those that require little or none.

That's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Like most societal problems, the causes are myriad and complex.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#28

Post by jahn716 » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 2:05 PM UTC

pygy_ wrote: post #16

ionised wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The carbs we get now in modern processed foods are not the same carbs we've been used to for millenia.

Now we're getting somewhere...

But clearly not frequently enough, hence the obesity...

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#29

Post by pygy_ » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 2:11 PM UTC

vonmoltke wrote: post #27

pygy_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll put it aletrnatively: Since 1) we eat too much and 2) we're not being force-fed, what drives the food down our collective throats? How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces?

> How do you explain the obesity epidemics which is a very recent phenomenon, if not through perverse market forces? - Extremely high levels of food security in developed nations. It's hard to get fat when food isn't available. - Related, nutritionally-questionable food products that were used to achieve this food security (primarily mass-preserved and processed foods). - A transition from jobs requiring large amount…

Additives for food security is an intetrsting angle, thanks. That being said, I'm not convinced that it requires making fattening products, but it was in part the outcome.

Your last point is at least partially mitigated by the fact that food intake regulation factors in physical activity in most people.

Re: A Cultural History of Fat

#30

Post by mrob » Mon, Feb 25, 2019, 2:16 PM UTC

thatswrong0 wrote: post #4

usmanshaikh06 wrote: post #2

This article does not discuss in depth the change in diet from mainly protein and fat based diets of the hunter-gatherers to carb-rich diet of today.

Were all hunter-gatherer diets protein and fat based? https://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/paleo-diet-h...

Is that percentage by weight, percentage by dry weight, percentage by calories, or something else?

And no matter which I interpret it as, all those diets are "protein and fat based" by Standard American Diet standards. Seeds and nuts are very high in fat.