9 thoughts on “We need more research to figure out why Americans have trouble maintaining a healthy weight”

  3. Ski area locals are some of the healthiest people on the planet. There are few if any fat people who live here in Tahoe. They do eat snacks (fruit, nuts, cheese, sliced meat, some chips, etc. ) and drink a fair amount but none of them eat the junk you show here. I suspect these types of snacks are for the tourists. Most just stay thin by doing lots of outdoor stuff and that keeps them in shape. I am always startled when I go back to Phoenix and look at the people there and how many of them are fat and how big they are versus the local Tahoe people. It is striking.

    You probably did not notice this as you were staying and skiing with tourists.

  4. There may well be a biological cause related to changing digestive microbiomes. I’ve decided that all diets involving restriction of food types fail. The only thing that is guaranteed to work, and work reliably, is the oldest diet of all, that was known to have health benefits since ancient times: fasting.

    What seems to work best for me is to not eat on Monday Wednesday and Friday (though I’ll drink juice or hot chocolate which will provide some calories and energy), eat sparingly (one meal plus one snack) on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and eat normally on Sunday. This only loses 3 pounds a week, but it’s easy to stick to and doesn’t leave me with any energy or mood problems. Some people may need to increase the length of the fasting period for hunger pangs to abate, or may have to eat normally on all the days they don’t fast, but EVERYONE (except diabetics or other chronically ill people) should practice and develop the ability to go an entire day without eating while still being able to function normally.

  5. Your photo is an example of free-market gamification applied to food. I was amazed the other day observing the vast array of options for what used to be hamburger helper. The greatest minds at companies like General Mills, Kraft, Nestle, Con Agra, Quaker, Coke and Pepsi developing new ways to sell people less for more. The more processed and artificial, the better. They understand food is perhaps the most powerful drug. Singularly profit driven business American style. Socialist, European and third world countries can’t compete when it comes to transforming corn into poor quality food stuffs.

    I expect this is one of the reasons hippie stores such as Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sprouts, etc. are gaining popularity. If you shop at these stores, you don’t have to worry as much about succumbing to cravings.

  7. I remember those fish snacks. They were like crack cocaine as a kid.

    Putting aside the absurdity of the diversity of choice, I have to say, I’m really tempted to try the S’mores version. There’s junk food in Europe as well, but not of the wild varieties you see in the USA. It’s not just the socialist mindset, but also the people here are not as willing to try new things.

  8. It’s because most of us are stuck sitting behind a desk 8 to 10 hours a day earning a living and not burning off calories. On top of that, our genetic programming makes us want to eat food at any opportunity because in the past, supplies were limited.

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