the men who made us fat- BBC documentary

[maumau]

This was flighted over the weekend and shows how portion sizes have increased through the years starting with some guy who suggested large popcorn at movies so as to increase profits. Seriously that was the beginning of the end.

From there competion grew, becoming food "bundling" i.e. hamburger, chips and drink for a set price. Then came supersizing. One place serves a large drink - it's TWO LITRES. The container looks like a bucket. MacDonalds do not come top of the pops.

Anyway i enjoyed it and thought you might too. Available free on youtube.

P.s. i posted this here on purpose as i don't think it belongs in the cooking and recipe section. Mods pse move if you want to.

 

[syntax]

i heard about this on the wknd, will give it a watch when I get a second.
however, my opinion before watching it is that they are trying to find blame.

Honestly, people ask for these things, if you are getting fat, unless you have some kind of legitimate medical condition, its probably your own fault for asking for the supersize meal

 

[maumau]

Definitely it's all on the individual but the temptation's there right in front of you.

There's an experiment with rats that shows how they gain weight once they get a taste for supermarket snacks. Theory is people order a huge meal planning to skip the next one but that never happens and they eat the next big meal and so it carries on.

The programme's like the history of rock except with food

I guess it's the rise of junk food and simultaneous deterioration of quality food.

Enjoy.

 

[Ancalagon]

I think its the law of unintended consequences.

I dont think anybody realized that excessive consumption of carbohydrates would drive obesity the way it has. When you combine that with the mass production of food, and the simple lie that buying in bulk means you are getting value, you get the fat explosion that we have had.

Humans find it difficult to resist carbohydrate rich food, because it was so rare before farming was invented. Now, we have more carbohydrates than we could ever eat, and its no longer a question of eating enough to survive (as it was 10000 years ago), its selecting what to eat to stay alive for longer.

Regarding the lie about buying in bulk, what I mean is that all fast food is sold on how much you can get for how little. McDonalds advertises how much coke you can get, or how much chips you can get. Or how big the burger is. Value is in the amount of food you get, not in the quality or nutritional value. People pick things from a fast food menu based on the cheapest thing that can fill them up, not what is good for them.

 

[Garson007]

Nutritional value has little to do with obesity. It's either you eat too much, or you don't.

 

[Ancalagon]

Nutritional value has little to do with obesity. It's either you eat too much, or you don't.

Wrong. How much you eat definitely matters, but what you eat is equally important. If someone eats a diet of fresh vegetables, meat and fat, and someone else eats a fast food diet, but both consume the same calories, the one who eats fast food will be fatter. This is because of the effect of carbohydrates on the body.

Besides which, my point was more that when people make choices about fast food, the nutritional value of what they are eating is last on their minds.

 

[RazedInBlack]

Thanks maumau. Been looking for something interesting to watch.

 

[Arthur]

Oh nice. At last we have someone else to blame. It's always their fault.

 

[zolly]

Thanks for the post. Got me thinking we should start a legally free movies thread in Off-topic or something.

 

[TJ99]

2 litres? Try "regular" or "child" size.

 

[Garson007]

Wrong. How much you eat definitely matters, but what you eat is equally important. If someone eats a diet of fresh vegetables, meat and fat, and someone else eats a fast food diet, but both consume the same calories, the one who eats fast food will be fatter. This is because of the effect of carbohydrates on the body.

Besides which, my point was more that when people make choices about fast food, the nutritional value of what they are eating is last on their minds.

Derp. Certainly, water and fibre (i.e. everything expelled by the body) would not cause weight gain, but everything else does. It's simple physics.

 

[Ancalagon]

Derp. Certainly, water and fibre (i.e. everything expelled by the body) would not cause weight gain, but everything else does. It's simple physics.

An equal calorific value of carbohydrates will cause more weight gain than an equal calorific value of fat. Google insulin spikes, what causes them, and what they do.

Summarized version - when your body digests carbohydrates, insulin is released into the bloodstream. The effect of this insulin causes the glucose in your bloodstream to be converted and stored as fat.

Eating fat does not trigger an insulin response, which is why the same calorific value of fat will cause less weight gain than carbohydrates.

 

[Garson007]

If your body excretes glucose then you're terribly unhealthy.

 

[Ancalagon]

If your body excretes glucose then you're terribly unhealthy.

Where did I use the word excrete? I said the glucose in your bloodstream.

I suggest reading this.

It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with fructose and galactose, that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion

Seriously, educate yourself on glucose and insulin before you make sweeping statements.

 

[Mars]

An equal calorific value of carbohydrates will cause more weight gain than an equal calorific value of fat. Google insulin spikes, what causes them, and what they do.

Summarized version - when your body digests carbohydrates, insulin is released into the bloodstream. The effect of this insulin causes the glucose in your bloodstream to be converted and stored as fat.

Eating fat does not trigger an insulin response, which is why the same calorific value of fat will cause less weight gain than carbohydrates.

The sugar roller coaster. I'm so glad I'm off it. I have literally shed 31kg in the last 8 months by cutting out the carbs. I had my cholesterol tested for discovery at the beginning of the year = 4.9.

 

[Garson007]

The only sweeping statement I've made is that the more you eat the bigger you get - if you don't get rid of it. It's an undeniable fact.

 

[Alan]

Oh nice. At last we have someone else to blame. It's always their fault.

Yip typical BBC BS.

Always is a victim and never responsible. If you're not responsible for yourself somebody else is and that's the nanny state bureaucrat who gains all the power that comes with the responsibility.

 

[RazedInBlack]

Oh nice. At last we have someone else to blame. It's always their fault.

Ok, so lets go 50/50 on the blame game. You saying the

guy who suggested large popcorn at movies so as to increase profits

is totally free from blame?

I agree its ultimately your choice to upsize or not but lets face it, advertising is a game of psychology to (referring to the base point) maximise profits.

 

[Ancalagon]

The only sweeping statement I've made is that the more you eat the bigger you get - if you don't get rid of it. It's an undeniable fact.

Oh we got some pearlers here:

If your body excretes glucose then you're terribly unhealthy.

Excretes glucose?

Nutritional value has little to do with obesity. It's either you eat too much, or you don't.

And this one too.

 

[maumau]

I didn't notice blame? Just a doccie about portions getting bigger and bigger -people too.