A simpler theory on the obesity epidemic

It's taste, stupid. And screens. 

But seriously, there are two trends that you see all over the world happening at the same time in which levels of obesity are rising. The first of these is that everyone got addicted to screens which means they're moving their bodies less, expending fewer calories. 

The second is that the food tastes a lot better. People don't really grasp when you say that food is engineered to be addictive. They think it is some sort of conspiracy theory, but America actually has a "smell" industry and exports it's food globally. What I mean is that there are actually scientists that work in the field of food smell. But don't believe me, believe chatGPT:

My prompt: "What's a scientist who works to make food taste good called"

"A scientist who works to make food taste good is typically called a food scientist, but more specifically, they may be:

1. Flavorist (or Flavor Chemist)

Specializes in creating and modifying flavors in food and beverages.

Uses chemistry to mimic natural flavors or invent new ones.

Often works in the processed food, beverage, or fragrance industries.

2. Sensory Scientist

Studies how people perceive food through taste, smell, sight, touch, and sound.

Conducts sensory panels and experiments to determine what makes food appealing.

Works closely with flavorists and food developers.

3. Food Technologist or Food Product Developer

Works on improving or creating food products.

Balances flavor, texture, nutrition, and shelf-life.

Uses both science and culinary knowledge.

So depending on the context:

Flavorist = makes it taste good chemically

Sensory scientist = tests how good it tastes to humans

Food technologist = develops the food as a whole, including taste

Let me know if you're thinking more about natural foods, restaurant cuisine, or industrial food—there are different titles depending on the field."

— ChatGPT 

There you have it straight from the AI's mouth. This matters because when food is engineered to taste amazing with artificial smells then the actual nutritional content becomes divorced from what your brain is experiencing.

The simplest explanation for why diets don't work is that people eventually figure out how to make their particular diet taste good. They start out with all these restrictions and over time they get creative. I remember when I was on a keto diet I eventually realized I could add fake breads like Carbonaut to my diet. Gradually my calorie intake crept up.

I would imagine it's the same for any diet. Eventually, you will either go off the diet or begin to cook better, or figure out a way to make burger restaurants give you a bun-free hamburger, or consume too much bacon. Restaurants put a lot of oil in their food in order to increase the taste, and a good cook can wreck any diet. The problem is not that you are fat, but that you insist your food tastes good. Our baby boomer parents ate canned peas with every meal. When I was growing up the standard household meal was pork chops or chicken, some sort of vegetable (frozen or canned), and mashed potatoes. It was an American version of the Anglo-German dinner. Macaroni and cheese instead of cheese curds or stroganoff. Pork chops instead of pork sausage. Mixed vegetables instead of sauerkraut. It was a stripped down version of something the English or Germans would eat. Lunch was a tuna fish sandwich with celery mixed in to stretch it out. If you wanted meatloaf or a pot pie you had to make it yourself.

If one were restricted to only boring food how long would it take them to start eating less? If I took your phone away, after the initial panic attack, how long would it take you to start moving your body more? Whenever there's a social problem my first assumption is that it is grounded in material forces. The food is absolutely delicious these days and the phones are keeping people immobilized. You HAVE to be burning less calories than your ancestors.

This isn't an easy solution. Is it even possible to pass a law that makes food boring? Would you even want to? Is it actually possible or desirable to take away people's phones? The 90s were awesome because these restrictions were natural, and being thin was not a constant battle to avoid tasty food. The food sucked and the donuts were far away, and Krispy Kreme had not yet been invented.

Just fill your shopping cart with the most boring food imaginable and force yourself not to eat out, and eat your vegetables. Tell me in the comments section if it works.