Go watch an old WWII war movie made in the 1940s & 50s and look how conspicuously lean the men are. Most look like their clothes are hanging off them. But they didn't spend weeks on a starvation diet to get that way, that was their walking around weight. Back then it was uncommon to see someone who was substantially overweight. These days when you see someone who looks like that, it makes you wonder if their health is okay.
Or watch the film "Woodstock." As random a gathering of tens of thousands of young people as you're ever likely to see, which took place 49 years ago. Search through the crowds for the fat people. They're there, but you've got to hunt to find them.
Then fast-forward to Modern America. Go to the local mall or Wally World. Walk around and try to keep a running tally of what percentage of the people you see there who you reckon are morbidly obese.
There are some few who are the victims of genetics but for the better part, disease doesn't cause obesity, lifestyle choices do.
And the food isn't to blame, its all a matter of how much you eat, and how much movement you create from all of those calories.
There is a bicycle race called the
Race Across America (RAAM). You might never have heard of it but it is one of the most gruelling sporting events ever dreamt up. As the name implies, they race from one side of America to the other, start out at one ocean and finish at the other. The distance depends on that year's route but it's usually around 3000 miles.
Except unlike races such as the Tour de France, where the race is run in "stages," Point A to Point B on day one, then Point B to Point C on the next, the race starts when it starts and it ends whenever they get to the other coast. There are no scheduled breaks or rest stops. It effectively is a sleep deprivation contest rather than one of athletic prowess because to have a chance to win you can't afford to sleep more than about 90 minutes per day. Because while you're napping, the others are still riding.
The winner finishes in 8 or 9 days, having ridden a bicycle something like 200 of the last 215 hours. Besides staying awake, the biggest problem is getting enough to eat. Because your stomach and gut can only process only so much food in a given day. But it takes fuel to keep the pedals turning over for nine days, so they eat the most calorie-rich diet they can stand.
In the early 1990s, ultra-cyclist
Rob Kish hit upon the idea of fat. The RAAM riders fuel mostly on liquid because it's easier on the stomach than solids and it's easier to get rid of the waste. You can pee while continuing to ride but you pretty much need to stop to poop. So they usually run on high-carb sports drink.
But it struck Kish that carbs are only four calories per gram where fats are nine calories per, so fats are more calorie-dense. So he shouldn't have to eat as much fat to get by as he had to eat of carbs. The question was how to feed on fat for nine days in a form that was both liquid and palatable. And the idea hit him of the ideal source.
Ice cream.
Häagen-Dazs, to be specific. With 60% of its calories from fat. So Kish decided he'd ride a bicycle (more or less) continuously for eight days eating nothing but Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
And he won. The Häagen-Dazs doesn't get all the credit because Kish owned the RAAM. He rode it 17 times, finished all 17 and won three. Including the one he rode on ice cream. But in that one race, it sure didn't hurt his time any.
At the finish he was so gaunt he looked like an escapee from Auschwitz. He'd lost weight on the trip (as they all do) because even eating more than 10,000 calories of ice cream a day didn't offset the calories burned riding a bicycle 375 miles.
You can eat pure sugar ...or lard ...and it won't make you fat if you're expending more energy than you're ingesting. Not possible. The laws of thermodynamics forbid it.
Originally Posted by EDCG19
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. In short, the average individual's perception of proportions is out of whack & they eat too much. Fast & junk food is calorie dense, thus mix that with large proportions & that truly is a recipe for disaster.
