For this meetup, we’ll be discussing theories explaining the rise in obesity. One such theory is the contamination theory, which proposes that the large increase in obesity seen in the industrialized world since 1950 is largely caused by contaminants in our food and water. There has been a very dramatic increase in obesity since the 1950s that has accelerated since 1970. In the 1800s the average U.S. man weighed 155lbs (70kg) while today in 2022 he weighs 195lbs (88kg). One possible explanation is that we evolved for an environment without widely available high calorie foods and now eat too much of them. This theory instead suggests that contamination is a larger cause. A summary of the argument can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xg98H6Vebg, and a more detail argument here: https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2021/07/07/a-chemical-hunger-part-i-mysteries/ Some discussion of other theories:
- On the role of saturated fats: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/10/for-then-against-high-saturated-fat-diets/
- Against the carbohydrate model: https://www.stephanguyenet.com/why-the-carbohydrate-insulin-model-of-obesity-is-probably-wrong-a-supplementary-reply-to-ebbeling-and-ludwigs-jama-article/
- Summary (of a summary) of the consensus academic view of obesity researchers: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/04/25/book-review-the-hungry-brain/
