In the last post, I was titillated by the JAMA authors' observation that, as prescription opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled, people and their physiology have not changed - their exposure to opioid drugs has changed. Is there any more apt an explanation for why obesity and overweight rates and associated complications have swelled like 10 pounds of sugar in a 5 pound sack?
One hundred years ago, there was precious little obesity. We have not changed physiologically since then. Two things have changed:
One hundred years ago, there was precious little obesity. We have not changed physiologically since then. Two things have changed:
- How much fuel (food) we're putting in our tanks (bellies) (and it's "octane level" - how many calories it has per unit volume); and
- How hard/far/long we're running the engine (i.e., the manual work our bodies perform daily)
It's utterly amusing that the obesity epidemic is viewed in any other terms. It's quite simple - 100 years ago, we did not have processed, ready-to-eat, high caloric density, cheap, easy, convenient foods that required little or no preparation time. And we did not have leaf blowers, washing machines, elevators, 3 cars per family, power mowers, pressure washers, desk jobs, televisions - you get the picture. In short, we ate fewer calories and we burned far more calories performing just the basic tasks of life, let alone actual manual labor performed as members of the workforce. We are exposed to much more food, and much less physical work. It's a dose-response issue.
