Since the 1980s, America has undergone an epidemic: We’re fatter than ever. And a lot of people look to the government to solve it.
But what if the government itself jump-started the epidemic?
According to a growing number of researchers, doctors and successful dieters, the usual cause of obesity has long been known, but government-supported science, backed by Congressional committees and official dogma, inverted that wisdom. What government sparked was the “low-fat revolution,” which basically said that eating fats made you fat. Government propaganda and funding set industry off to replace fats in foods with … sugars.
And thus began a movement that ran right up against our endocrine systems, making us hungrier the more carbohydrates we ate, fatter the faster those carbs were turned to blood sugars, and diabetic in increasing numbers.
This is the point science Gary Taubes has been making for a decade, famously starting with a New York Times essay, “What If It Has All Been a Big Fat Lie?” He defends the approach of Dr. Atkins, famous for his high meat-and-fat/low-carb diet.
Since that essay, similar diets and research have pointed in that general direction. An economist has even touted a “cave man” diet.
You don’t have to turn to government to lose weight — though, interestingly, the USDA’s current advice isn’t as crazy as it once was, and the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign appears reasonable.
Ignore, instead, the government’s past bad advice.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “Bloated Government Makes Us Fat?”
Government farm policy, catering to companies like Cargill, has changed from propping up the American farmer in lean years, to a business of paying farmers for maximizing production, and they use fertilizer from oil to do it, so that there is a surplus of calories available on the American market that is turned into both expensive processed foods and ethanol.
We buy oil to make fertilizer to make corn to change most of our foods into some sort of corn derivative and then burn the rest in the car, all subsidized by the taxpayer.
And the government is also supposed to be the solution to fix this?
The government is going to rescue us from the problems that it caused while “helping” us?
The government is the problem and the main difference between the parties, with the exception of some of the new Tea Party leaning candidates, is only thir buttons.
The only purpose for this federation is for the common defense of the states and the federal government is failing at that.
Dirk, you left out DM ( ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND) which (in my opinion) bribes candidates of all stripes – sorry, makes political contributions to politicans of all stripes and parties, to support ETHANOL, and whatever else will give them money.
And note some of the “tea party” people-like Paul of kentucky- a few months into his term and has filed for re-erection – I mean re-election– guess being in Washington has turned him, liek hsi father, into trying to feed at the public trough- easier, i guess, then checking people’s eye sight.
All the politicians –IN MY OPINION– suck– and should ALL be voted out.
It is quite correct to state that the federal government’s idiotic anti-fat advice was the most important factor in the increased prevalences of obesity and adult-onset diabetes in America. Despite decades of research showing that low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets cause weight gain in many people, the federal government still issues propaganda about the evils of fat (except in dairy products, because the dairy lobbies have lots of clout).
Of note is that the main reason for the use of trans-unsaturated fats is that the federal government demonized the saturated fats that were used in deep frying. They did no research on the safety of trans-unsaturated fats (that do not occur naturally), and just assumed they would be less harmful than saturated fats. Oops! The trans fats are worse for us than lard and heavy cream.
[…] step towards his health, beginning a low-carb, high-protein diet dubbed the paleo (or “cave man”) diet. Within 30 days, he claims, he was off insulin; within a few months he had shed off 45 […]