Check it out. The reporter seems resistant to the idea that anything could be wrong with giving kids juice boxes, and of course we had to hear from the Corn Refiners Association and a doctor who works for them. But seeing Dr. Lustig on national TV is a real step forward.
I always find it interesting when doctors explain that we’re becoming fatter simply because we’re eating more. Shouldn’t that explanation immediately spark another question … namely, WHY ARE WE EATING MORE? Doesn’t appetite have something to do with food intake? Shouldn’t we be looking for the reason our appetites have gone out of control? As Gary Taubes pointed out, blaming obesity on eating too much is a bit like saying the cause of alcoholism is drinking too much.
Dr. Lustig says fructose messes up our leptin levels and makes us hungrier, so we eat too much. Dr. Corn Refiner’s reply is that we eat too much. That doesn’t even qualify as a retort if you think about it.
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It seems to me that one distinctive feature of many adults in hunter-gatherer populations, when compared with adults in urban populations, is that the hunter-gatherers are a lot less obsessed with food:
http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2010/05/intermittent-fasting-as-form-of.html
And they tend to be thin too, even though some consume plenty of fructose (e.g., the Kitavans). In my opinion, two key problems are: (1) obsession with food; and (2) overconsumption of foods rich in refined carbohydrates and sugars.
Agreed.
I saw a woman today eating a hot dog, smoking a cigarette and inhaling a sugary drink from McDonald’s while she had a conversation with a colleague about how she is having difficulty losing weight. She mentioned that she was always tired, irritated, and was constantly hungry. They were both at a loss about the situation, and were even talking about discussing this with her doctor. She told her doctor that she eats well, but doesn’t know why she is gaining weight…and on and on.
I have family members who are doing the same thing, and I know athletes who eat this way to exercise far too much just to “burn it all off.”
I know from my personal experience, and from my students who have listened to me, that decreasing the sugar will make a big difference so long as people learn to read labels and replace the sugar with more fulfilling, real foods.
Thanks for the work you are doing, we appreciate your humor along with the great articles. I especially loved the NuVal article and the “Kids need cake” post as well.
Thank you, Karl.