Earlier quoted context omitted.
Obesity is caused by eating too much. If you don’t eat then you won’t gain weight, there is no subverting the laws of thermodynamics. It sounds callous but if you go to Africa or visit a prisoner of war camp you won’t find many fat people and so blaming chemicals in America for so many fat people doesn’t make much sense to me.
True in the technical sense, but it doesn’t address the mystery that in the 40s, 50s, 60s people in rich countries had access to plenty of food, ate lots of calories, and yet obesity was very rare.
New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
301–310 of 403 posts
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the united states valued individualism for a very long time, before and during the cold war, and even now. It's a cultural aspect. Blame people like Reagan and Milton Friedman for this. It's a highly political problem. Inequality is already somewhat caused by individualism, but climate change is also caused by climate change. For example, if China wants to reduce its co2 emissions, you only have to convince C…
Communist China is responsible for nearly 2/3rds of CO2 emissions since 2000. In the US it's been going down for the past decade. You also have to keep in mind the American entrepreneurial culture or DNA which has born fruit unlike any other system, and is even responsible for the very platform we're using right now. That's all about this idea that any individual can change the world.
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#303Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#304Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also the metabolic syndrome/obesity epidemic. 40% of US adults have obesity. By 2030 about half of US adults will, and in 29 states more than half of adults will be obese. We see obesity becoming increasingly normalized. People feel powerless to stop it and that we should just accept it. It feels to me like there is something besides diet changes happening to us. That's part of it, but I wonder if microplastics or so…
Alternative explanation (call me crazy) :-) A US comedian once commented that when he went to Europe 20 years ago, he noticed that people only ate three meals a day. What a concept!
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#305I know it's probably bad for me and that I need to stop, but I love sous vide meat. Especially steak—it's perfect every time.
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#306One of the biggest reason plastics are used is because they're inert. in this case, fluorescent polystyrene particles Did they neglect any effects of the fluorescent dye instead? The fact that plastics are everywhere , and we have been exposed to them for several generations, should be seen as evidence of their harmlessness; we would've seen many obvious effects if they weren't. I see this as very similar to the some…
Sure, but what about the more slight effects? A 2-point general decline in IQ is a huge problem, but not obvious. I am wary of any “bogeyman” that we are told to be worried about, in this case, the pervasiveness of plastic does actually worry me. Hopefully i’m wrong
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#307Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's almost as if it was the adoption of the microwave oven that signaled the roller coaster was beginning to race downhill. God, I wish I could go back to non-plastic packaging. Natural peanut butter I can still find in glass, as I can for my jelly. But mayonnaise, ketchup and countless other items are in plastic-only containers.
What's wrong with microwave ovens? I find mine very handy and I never ever put plastic in it.
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#308I am surprised there's no mention of male fertility. It's a very viable hypothesis in my opinion.
Also the rising prevalence of trans. Feeling like the other sex might be related to disruption of one's normal sex hormone profile.
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#309I'm still shocked that there hasn't been more of a regulatory push to eliminate single-use plastics. In the US the closest we've gotten is banning plastic straws and charging for plastic carry bags. Everything I've read about plastic recycling points to it being ineffective and requiring massive amounts of fossil fuel to move the waste around the globe, often with much of it just getting burned or dumped into the env…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/28/paper-...
Re: New study finds microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, alter behaviour
#310Earlier quoted context omitted.
Obesity is caused by eating too much of the wrong thing. Which happens to be the cheap thing in industrialized mass produced Western food chains. Cheap in terms of dollars and personal time. So obesity is really an economic problem. We should come down like a ton of bricks on fast food and require they offer healthier options at low prices, subsidized by taxes on their unhealthier options.
Or more simply, you could not subsidize the cheap unhealthy options at source (eg corn subsidies). But until very recently, I would absolutely have still chosen the unhealthy option. I'm not sure how much impact 20% on a bag of Doritos is really going to have.
To me, substitutability is key.
If you tax unhealthy food, but unhealthy food is the only option (from physical, financial, and time perspectives), people just pay more to eat unhealthy food.
If you tax unhealthy food, but also require healthier and low-cost options at the same establishment, then people begin to have options. I.e. do I want a $10 Big Mac or a $3 grilled chicken sandwich?
Even getting the Big Mac less often would be a net win.
And I call bullshit if McDonald's tries the "But it's impossible to run healthy food through our supply chain..." argument.