which makes you fat. It's not the government conspiracy, either. Just a simple case of calories in - calories out combined with decline in home cooking:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the average American ate almost 20% more calories in the year 2000 than they did in 1983, thanks, in part, to a boom in meat consumption. Today, each American puts away an average of 195lbs of meat every year, compared to just 138lbs in the 1950's. Consumption of added fats also shot up by around two thirds over the same period, and grain consumption rose 45% since 1970...
Other research suggests Americans burn 120 to 140 fewer calories a day than they did 50 years ago. Add this to the higher amount of calories we are packing in, and we get a perfect recipe for weight gain...
Over the past years, diet fads have come and gone, with people rushing to blame red meat, dairy, wheat, fat, sugar, etc. for making them fat, but in reality, the problem is much simpler. Genetics and age do strongly influence metabolism, but as the CDC points out, weight gain and loss is primarily a formula of total calories consumed versus total calories used.
Interesting they go out of their way to blame 'meat,' but what is consumption per capita? What about the increase in food additives from the late 1970s onwards? I would bet if people mostly ate meat they would not be that heavy. Following the US government food pyramid is deadly longterm.
ReplyDeleteWell, they say in the end that it's not meat or dairy or wheat or fat or whatever, but eating too much. On the other hand, the Med diet with moderate meat consumption comes on top every time when they research various health problems.
ReplyDeleteIf you read the whole article, they also blame fast food. When home cooking disappeared due to women working outside home, then obesity became a real problem.