https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/well/eat/healthy-eating-habits-new-year.html?campaign_id=0&emc=edit_cr_20220104&instance_id=0&nl=comments-notifications®i_id=60601442&segment_id=0&user_id=0e980ae3c685184113e64ebbb6ce5923#commentsContainer&permid=116192266:116192266
How many times are we going to read about diets not working? The above article appeared today in The New York Times online, maybe just my online : ) but it brought home that even a respected publication like this one keeps repeating well-known facts without addressing the real, underlying issues with our society. My response published today follows:
I appreciate the veracity of this article, but I find it redundant for those of us who have known these facts for a long time. The research about diets not working isn't new. It has been around for several decades now. Yet dieting or not, Americans, and in fact the prosperous around the world, are gaining weight, many becoming obese and unhealthy. Our issue is the capitalistic commodification of food. From giant food companies selling chips and soda, to mom and pop makers of the latest version of the donut, food has become a commodity pushed onto consumers. Moreover, the sellers of food play on our lizard/child brains by providing the consumer with what the human brain and body need most--fat, salt and sugar. Food has become a pleasure activity, and as such has lost its bigger purpose, to nourish. Meanwhile, another capitalistic sector--apparel is normalizing being fat, excuse me large, to sell its own products. The only way for us to eat healthy is to be taught from the very beginning of our lives that we eat to nurture our bodies first and enjoy the transient pleasure second. There is no way a kid raised on pizza and soda will enjoy salads as an adult. There are always exceptions of course, but it holds true for the majority. The research is there.
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