Chapter 6 Chapter 4 The world is getting fatter

Please tell me, where is the slim man?Where are they all gone?There are indeed a few adults who can find a few, but how long can they last?In the United States, someone predicted based on current trends that by 2030, 100% of adults will be overweight!In Germany, everyone likes to emulate what the Americans have, but they are five to ten years behind others.So I estimate that by 2040 at the latest, the Germans will catch up to this level.In other industrially developed countries, the rate of progress is similar. By that time, there will be 300 million diabetics in the world, which is no longer an accidental phenomenon.Because overweight is closely related to insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, they often develop synchronously.Overweight people are several times more likely to develop insulin resistance than ordinary people, and the risk of developing diabetes is naturally much higher.But there are also thin people who are insulin resistant, and fat people who are insulin sensitive.However, if you gain too much weight at a young age, your chances of developing insulin resistance are greatly increased.Whether this is due to the increase in body weight, the accumulation of fat, or the living habits formed by most obese people since childhood is the issue that this book is particularly concerned about.

Maybe you haven't read my two books on being overweight and losing weight, or have read them and forgotten about them.Let me briefly summarize here. The question of why the world is getting fatter is not only for us two-legged animals, but also for our fluffy, chubby, cute little friends who like to lie on the sofa like us!What kind of pets do people have? Thirty percent of cats and dogs in the United States are overweight!This warning figure comes from a news broadcast by CNN on February 16, 2000.As a result, animal obesity has become the biggest health problem for household pets.Americans immediately gave it the appropriate name Garfield Syndrome.The Veterinary Hospital Affiliated to the University of Minnesota has a weight loss department headed by Juliet.Dr. Julie Churchill said: America's dogs today are generally couch slobs.

The couch animals similar to them will be mentioned in detail in the next chapter.Here, I have to disappoint the dog owners: Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with information about our Germanic pets. In order to protect the rights and interests of our dear babies, the collection and dissemination of such information is not allowed in Germany.However, I speculate that the animal weight loss hospital, which provides diet therapy and maintenance for cats and dogs, has a very promising future here. Why are you so fat?Has anyone not thought about this question?Everyone has always pursued a slim figure.The more fat people around, the more rare things are for thin people.There is no doubt that the parents are to blame for this, of course!If parents are fat, children tend not to be thin either.As with many other questions in biology, the key role lies in genes, that is, what is inherited.However, if you look at the global scale, most overweight people have parents who are not fat.In the past 30 years, many people from different regions and ethnic groups with different genetic characteristics all over the world have become blessed. This cannot be caused by genes, but can only be caused by changes in our surrounding environment. Relationship.

how did this happen?A large number of residents around the world have left rural areas and moved to cities, which has led to changes in working methods, from agricultural production and manual labor to service-oriented industries with capital and knowledge as the core and motivation.Manual labor is increasingly being replaced by advanced technology.We need less and less energy because machines, robots, elevators and computers save us much of our physical exertion.Those who live a little further from work commute in ever more luxurious cars. We fight relentlessly to work less and retire earlier so that we have more free time to drive around and shop and then spend time sitting comfortably in front of the TV.Now, we have achieved the real economic miracle: continuous progress, early stagnation!

In domestic life, too, the progressive tide of automation can be seen everywhere.Americans call this a technologically advanced family unit (TAFU: technically advanced family unit).Every home is equipped with a series of remote controls that can be used to turn on and off the lights, control the CD player, and adjust the indoor temperature.In a typical modern home, where is the work that requires physical exertion, even if it only raises the heart rate to six beats per minute.Maybe it's just sex, which sounds exhausting enough.Is it because of this that human beings also lack interest in this only physical exercise at home, and it is getting worse?

With the development of economy and society, and this modernization process, the gross national product of most countries is increasing, everyone has enough money in their pockets, and real poverty is disappearing from us.Isn't this what everyone dreams of?At the same time, the world is undergoing a change in eating habits.Everyone has enough money to buy delicious food anytime and anywhere.Even the children have pocket money enough to go to McDonald's once in their pockets. Parents work hard to make money by the computer during the day, but they can't let the children go hungry.

As affluence increases, the inhabitants of the developing world are finally saying goodbye to the impoverished eating patterns: small quantities and mainly grains and plant tubers.The market opened up, businessmen constantly had new ideas, and their interest in new things from the West was strengthened with the deepening of the popularity of television.Many people in these countries today also enjoy a rich and varied diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, eggs and dairy products, given enough money. With more to choose from, enjoyment is even more important to many people.The reason why these products are so easily accepted by people is not because they contain sugar and fat, but because people like food that is refurbished, delicious, convenient, and cheap. Sexual eating habits change.

Although some loyalists of whole grains and whole grains are unwilling to admit it, with the fact that the diet structure has changed, the supply of the most basic nutrients needed for people's survival in all these countries, that is, the quality of nutrition, has been compared with the past few centuries. , with a significant improvement.Whether this diet was healthier than the original one, before the introduction of agriculture and reliance on trade, is another question, which we shall return to later.With the spread of modern culture, people are more interested in food that is quick and easy to cook, and everyone can do it.This transformation, which began a century ago in Europe, is prevalent today in developing countries.These foods contain more fat, especially vegetable fat which is very cheap nowadays, and more sugar and starch.This revered vegetable fat, largely derived from soy, corn, and wheat products, has given us plenty of headaches.We'll come back to that later.Foods in this new style of cooking are higher in calories per serving, which means they are energy denser than foods of the past.

Now let's look at a successful publicity campaign.We've been hearing for years that fat itself makes you fat.However, for hundreds of millions of years on our planet, the first law of thermodynamics has played a key role, according to which, if all the energy ingested is expended, there will be no excess energy.It is well known that body fat accumulates only when there is an excess of energy, ie excess intake.Has this all changed now?Nutrition experts say that only calories from fat make people fat, which is the culprit of overweight.According to Germany's most famous weight loss expert Falk.According to Volker Pudel, who was also the president and member of the standing committee of the German Nutrition Society, people can eat carbohydrates without restriction, because the calories in bread, potatoes, apples and gummies do not make people feel sick. get fat.In fact, in the field of thermodynamics, this is an unprecedented discovery.Shouldn't he be awarded a Nobel Prize for this discovery, and of course for his selfless contribution to millions of obese people?

Interestingly, with regard to the above-mentioned intricate and unstudied relationship, the opinions of several well-paid experts coincide with those of low-fat healthy foods. Isn't there a black market between them?In fact, experts are very divided when it comes to fat.To be sure, epidemiological studies have not found a clear link between fat intake and being overweight.After all, there are only a few successful examples that have been cited repeatedly to prove the benefits of a low-fat diet, and most studies have failed to prove the benefits of this diet.But among some insiders, the findings are often evaded.

Not long ago, a large and analytically rigorous long-term survey was published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association. Three thousand Americans, aged from eighteen to thirty, were tested. The results showed that fat intake had no effect on overweight.Conversely, those who ate the most fat, but at the same time a lot of crude fiber, gained the least weight.And those with the least fat intake and high carbohydrate intake, if the diet lacked crude fiber, gained the most weight!This interesting combination of high fat and rich crude fiber will appear frequently in this book. Fortunately, at such times, there are always a few visionary wise men who stand outside the debate, like John.John Blundell.I think he's one of the cutest characters out there in Nutrition.The professor at the University of Leeds in the UK chairs a psychobiological research group at the university.It can be said that he is a nutritional psychologist. Unlike others, he has attainments in both biology and psychology.His research is groundbreaking, his articles are witty and illuminating, and his discussions at academic conferences are brilliant, critical and thought-provoking.His comments published in the first issue of "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2000, the most influential nutrition journal, are worth reading for all interested friends.He pointed out that there is no biological link between high fat in food and weight gain, and other factors are clearly at play.He also recently proved in a study that humans can consume large amounts of fat for a long time without gaining weight. In Blundell's lab, researchers compared two groups of young men who ate a diet high in fat and those who ate a low-fat diet.The average age and weight of the two groups were the same.The group that ate more fat consumed an average of 159 grams of fat per day, equivalent to 44% of their daily calorie intake.The other group consumed an average of 81 grams of fat per day, equivalent to 32% of calories.The average total daily calorie intake of the first group was 3,195 calories, and that of the second group was 2,253 calories.Although the daily caloric intake of the two groups was very different, there was no difference in their body weight and body mass index, and the amount of body fat and the proportion of fat in the body were similar!This shows that people who are accustomed to a high-fat diet can offset the higher fat intake by increasing the body's basal metabolism and energy consumption. Although there are cautious fat eaters, the laws of thermodynamics still apply.The high-fat survey by the University of Leeds has finally proved scientifically that it is meaningless for individuals to mark the calorie content on food packaging, and calorie counting is also a waste of effort.No matter how different each person's situation is, the imbalance between energy intake and expenditure is the reason for the accumulation of subcutaneous fat. In Chapter 12, we'll return to low-fat and weight loss.Regarding the relationship between fat and weight gain, given the limited data currently available for scientific research, it can only be said that the relationship is not significant, and it is not important compared with other influencing factors.The real answer is that, in addition to an individual's genetic condition, acquired environmental factors like fat intake can affect everyone completely differently. John.In the above-mentioned review, Blundell suggested that fat should no longer be seen as the root cause of obesity, but as one of many risk factors.This has an excellent advantage, because a risk factor by definition shows more or less only a statistically close relationship between two phenomena, and does not, in fact, necessarily explain the problem in an individual person.In this individual this factor is one of many causes, but in another it is not.In fact, we must always look at eating itself as a risk factor for weight gain.Whoever can completely or mostly eliminate this danger will definitely not gain weight It is indisputable that people will gain weight if they eat relatively too much, and another factor related to this is the relatively low energy consumption.We can gobble it up thanks to our agricultural policy.It is admirable that this policy continues to reduce the cost of producing food, or what people pay to eat and eat.Now it is the trade that is ruthlessly manipulating the price. It must be cheap to sell well.A lot of money is invested in attractive packaging and sensational advertisements, and consumers will always be led by the nose.Almost anything can be sold this way.You only have to glance into someone's trolley when you're in the checkout line at the supermarket to see what the hell everyone's buying and eating right now! In the 1950s, people also spent about half of their income on food; now it's only 13%.We can spend less and eat more and more comfortably.Not long ago, even the German Minister of Health Andreas.Andrea Fischer told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung": 19 pfennigs (about NT$3) per egg is too cheap.She was referring to the relationship between price and food quality.If we are only willing to pay nineteen pfennigs for an egg, it is likely to be an egg laid by a chicken in a chicken farm, and the chicken is likely to eat a problematic feed.She added: "This phenomenon abounds, and so does mad cow disease.Cows eat grass, and it is against nature to feed them animal bone meal.It also has to do with how much we are willing to spend on food.Well said, Madam Minister!Consumer psychology is also taken into account when analyzing the origins and impact of mad cow disease and other food hygiene scandals.I hope that this female minister who eats well, while advocating the levy of environmental protection tax to promote environmental protection, can also immediately realize that if the price of food, the fuel of the body, does not increase, it will not be long before the continuous surge of medical and health care The cost will rise out of control. In this case, eating has become a convenient disguised satisfaction.Stress, frustration, distress, lovelorn, loneliness, these are all external stimuli that affect our emotional state.Eating can be calming, satisfying, and mood-boosting, as if eating away negative emotions.Fixed lunchtimes, occasional little temptations, and today's bizarre eating fads keep us from really feeling when we're hungry and when we're full.If, for a small amount of money, you can get something delicious to eat, day or night, it is no wonder why people eat without stopping, even if they are not hungry. Apparently, human beings were not prepared for such an eating paradise.In the past hundreds of thousands of years, human beings have just finally adapted to the ability to survive on a small amount of food in stages.Conserving reserves, conserving optimal energy, is therefore a key survival advantage, and this trait has deeply influenced our genes during evolution.From a genetic standpoint, it is more natural and easier for a person to gain weight than lose weight. Under normal, that is to say, primitive living conditions, a complex balance system is formed from appetite, hunger, hunger, and fullness. Don't overeat and hurt your body.This maintains energy balance over time and prevents malnutrition or overnutrition.However, as it is now, more and more fat people prove that this balance has been disrupted.This puts the load on the body's regulatory functions to the limit. In principle, humans have no need to lose weight at all, so we don't have genes that promote weight loss.Instead, our genetics are doing everything they can to prevent weight loss and instead maintain the weight we've achieved.The ever-increasing food and calorie supply and the ever-decreasing calorie demand overwhelm the body's own energy regulation mechanism with certain genetic weaknesses, resulting in this undisguised imbalance. Now, we're getting close to the root of the problem.In this regard, the human body is like a car: big and heavy, and consumes more energy than a small one, whether idling or driving on a country road, and even more so on a highway.A tall, fat person expends more energy while sitting, lying down, or working than a petite, slender person.No matter what the reason is, if you consume more calories than you need for a long time, there are only two ways out: one is to increase activities to increase the amount of exercise to consume the remaining calories; the other is if the former is too troublesome, the body can solve it by itself This imbalance.Our body will add a certain amount of weight to itself, so that its energy consumption will increase, so as to balance the energy intake again. This is where the vicious circle begins.People who accumulate a lot of fat tend to have a higher concentration of fat in the blood.Muscle and liver cells continue to be surrounded by fatty acids and, after a period of time, become less sensitive to insulin.They can no longer absorb and burn sufficient amounts of sugar from the blood, which creates insulin resistance.Muscle cells can only burn fatty acids, while sugar remains in the blood.Therefore, temporary insulin resistance is originally a beneficial physiological response to burn off excess fat. As mentioned earlier, short-term insulin resistance also occurs when the sugar stores of muscle and liver cells are strained due to starvation or prolonged physical exertion.In this way, the body saves precious sugar to supply the nervous system and red blood cells, which can only work on sugar. However, temporary emergency measures can also develop into chronic insulin resistance.The fact is that this chronic form is more common in obese people, especially those who have accumulated too much fat in the abdominal cavity and who have been inactive for a long time. If we calmly observe the facts, we will find that advanced technological people have created a modern environment that makes people fat. The human life style is greedy for convenience, lacks exercise, and has a lot of food.Weight gain is a natural adaptation to the environment at first, and then due to other incorrect habits, such as long-term lack of muscle exercise, the human body's regulatory function will fail.As long as this pathological influence from our environment continues to increase, the increase in obesity is inevitable. Preventing obesity on a broad scale will require radical changes in the environmental conditions of our own making, our good days.This seemingly unrealistic assumption is indeed worth thinking about.Next, we'll meet a species endemic to our time, the couch slug.