We Get Fat Because of Fast Food/Junk Food/Palatable Food
In the graph above, you see how the population changed its eating habits in the past 120-130 years.
At the turn of the 20th century, people were eating mostly simple, home-cooked meals. Around 2009, about half of what people ate was fast food or other foods away from home.
It may seem then like fast food is a key driver of our obesity epidemic based on this graph. However, let’s compare this to the Japanese.
The Japanese have the second most Mcdonalds in the world (the US is number 1). They are number 6 when it comes to people per a fast food restaurant (R).
Japan, South Korea, and France are 3 of the top 6 countries that consume the most fast food, according to one source. Japan and South Korea are the thinnest countries in the developed world and France is one of the thinnest. France has the lowest obesity rate in Europe at~12% (R). Other relatively thin countries are in the top 10 as well. (R)
It’s also interesting that many of the countries that consume the most fast food are also the healthiest (R).
The Japanese eat plenty of junk food as well. The bulk of their calories come from refined rice, noodles, and beer, according to observers. They’re not big into brown rice or whole grains, though they eat veggies (including fermented veggies). They also eat food that tastes very good, from what I hear. This information comes from people who I know that spent time there.
It’s possible that these factors (junk food, fast food) play some role in making us fat, but it seems like these theories can’t explain in a significant way why we get fat. It surely isn’t a sufficient cause of obesity.
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