1. Sugar Consumption Has Gone Through the Roof
Most of us know that sugar is bad, however do we really always realize the severity of the situation?
Look at the graph below and it is clear as daylight:
Sugar consumption has skyrocketed and contributes to the following:
- More Belly fat
- Insulin resistance
- Damaging effects on metabolism
- High triglycerides
Observational studies have shown that people who eat too much sugar are at a greater risk of getting:
- Diabetes (Type 2)
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Cancer
Scary stuff? Wouldn’t you agree?
…and sugar makes us FAT. Any excess sugar that cannot be stored in your body for energy will be transformed into
triglycerides…
Triglycerides = FAT
Worst of all would be that Sugar is ADDICTIVE…that’s right, Click here and read the article
2. In 1977 EVERYTHING changed…
Look at the graph below and notice the spike after 1977. Frankly weight gain and obesity got out of hand and escalated.
So yeah what’s the big deal what happened there? Well… since 1977 the US dietary guidelines changed. Fat was
abolished and low-fat was promoted like it was going out of fashion.
The belief was that fat, especially saturated fat was the main cause of cardiovascular disease. However this lie has been disproven. Click on the numbers to see the studies 1 2 3 4
The fear of fat which people still uphold was introduced and frankly everything went wrong at that time exactly.
But obviously you might be thinking: “Correlation does not equal causation?”
However a low-fat diet DOES NOT prevent heart disease or cancer and will certainly not help with weight loss. This perception needs to be changed.
3. Sugary Sodas
As you can see in the graph the consumption of soda and fruit juices has increased.
Now sugar sweetened beverages provide little to no nutritional benefits to the body and will increase weight gain, risk of diabetes, fractures and dental cavities. Click here to view the study.
Your brain does not “register” liquid sugar calories in the same way as it does solid calories. So if you consume a certain number of calories from a sugary drink, then your brain doesn’t automatically make you eat fewer calories of something else instead.
Sugar sweetened beverages (only a single serving) is linked to a staggering 60.1% increased risk of obesity in young children.
4. Not getting Enough Sleep
Turns out people sleep less… wow who would have thought? But fact is that sleep is so important that if you don’t get
enough your chances of gaining weight are higher.
There is a link to Short Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children and Adults, in fact it is linked to an 89% increased risk in children, and a 55% increased risk in adults.
In modern society sleep loss which is predominant (and in some cases even encouraged) could be a risk factor for major chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes.
5. Junk Food Is Cheaper
Source: Dr. Stephan Guyenet.
Look at the graph above and one can clearly see that food prices have fallen from 25% of disposable income to about 10% of disposable income and this is in the past 80 years.
Trouble is that these days real food is more expensive than processed junk food.
Food manufacturers buy in bulk and they can source their ingredients at cheaper prices. Not to mention the nasty ingredients (like msg, transfats, vegetable oils etc) they add to give their products a longer shelf life. That sounds like a great deal for them.
However, it’s a bad deal for us. We consume this processed food which is in no way good for our health and waistline.
6. Holidays are a Huge Stumbling Block
Source: Dr. Stephan Guyenet.
Truth is people will more likely than not gain weight over a longer period of time, not overnight.
However, weight gain does spike during the holidays – No judgement but we tend to relax then and we do overindulge during the holiday season. Basically we eat more than we need to.
But here is the catch. Let’s say a person overdid it and gained 3lbs over the holiday period. Now in most cases the person will not lose the total of 3lbs, the may only lose 2lbs. So this will add to the annual weight gain over time but it is more significant.
So there you have it – a big percentage of peoples lifetime weight gain can be explained by a short holiday period. Click here for the study.
7. Food Variety & Choices Contributes to Weight Gain
As you can see in the graph above a study was done on rats. The rats were divided into 3 groups. The 1st group got healthy rat food, the second got one variety of junk food and the 3rd group got a variety of junk food (at the same time).
As you can see the rats that had the most variety gained the most weight. And at that a lot more than the rats who had healthy food.
Click here to view the rat study.
Now as you can imagine the choices we have on a daily basis with regards to food is not limited in any way and because of that we do tend to overeat – more than our bodies need. Click here to view the study.
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