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from the take-your-protein-pills-and-put-your-helmet-on dept.
'Protein hunger' drives overeating, large-scale population study shows:
A year-long study of the dietary habits of 9,341 Australians has backed growing evidence that highly processed and refined foods are the leading contributor of rising obesity rates in the Western world.
The new study, in the latest issue of the journal Obesity conducted by the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), was based on a national nutrition and physical activity survey undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and further backs the 'Protein Leverage Hypothesis'.
First put forward in 2005 by professors Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson, the Protein Leverage Hypothesis argues that people overeat fats and carbohydrates because of the body's strong appetite for protein, which the body actively favours over everything else. Because so much of modern diets consist of highly processed and refined foods – which are low in protein – people are driven to consume more energy-dense foods until they satisfy their protein demand.
[...] "It's increasingly clear that our bodies eat to satisfy a protein target," added Professor David Raubenheimer, the Leonard Ullmann Chair in Nutritional Ecology at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences.
"But the problem is that the food in Western diets contains increasingly less protein. So, you have to consume more of it to reach your protein target, which effectively elevates your daily energy intake.
[...] Participants with a lower proportion of protein than recommended at the first meal consumed more discretionary foods – energy-dense foods high in saturated fats, sugars, salt, or alcohol – throughout the day, and less of the recommended five food groups (grains; vegetables/legumes; fruit; dairy and meats). Consequently, they had an overall poorer diet at each mealtime, with their percentage of protein energy decreasing even as their discretionary food intake rose – an effect the scientists call 'protein dilution'.
Journal Reference:
Amanda Grech, Zhixian Sui, Anna Rangan, et al., Macronutrient (im)balance drives energy intake in anobesogenic food environment: An ecological analysis [open], Obesity, 30, 11, 2022. DOI: 10.1002/oby.23578
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 19 2022, @11:58PM (1 child)
I knew I wouldn't have to scroll too far for this, as it's a common refrain when this topic comes up. Of course in the strictest sense of the word, there is nothing wrong with food that is processed. It's the *type of process* that matters. In the common vernacular, the phrase "processed food" has come to mean roughly: Food that is prepared by corporations in an industrial manner, with the primary objectives of said processing being profit, addiction, shelf life, and other characteristics as opposed to proper nutrition. Often involving the addition of sugars, removal and/or replacement of vitamins, and fortification with nutrients and the residues of chemicals such as pesticides and hormones used to facilitate a more profitable outcome for the companies..
Everybody knows what we're talking about, but we haven't found a way to clarify it in a way that would roll off the tongue easily while still satisfying the pedants. While it is indeed possible to produce industrial food that is still wholesome, it's not common. Asking everybody to analyze every purchase is not practical. It's simpler to say that you should simply avoid the frozen aisle, things that come in aluminum pop-top cans or cardboard boxes, etc. If you do buy foods that come in such packaging, you need to read the label more carefully to see if they're actually not so bad.
Compare and contrast with the outer aisles containing things such as fruit, vegetables, and raw mean which might still have some "processing" involved and are subject to other qualifiers such as organic vs. GMO and... don't get me started on how GMO and selective breeding are *not* the same thing, because they definitely aren't and yet some people will insist they are.
To reiterate--the problem is complex, but people are simple. A "check engine" light on our food may not satisfy the geeks, but it's probably the most practical way to help prevent people from getting stranded on the food highway.
That, and we should probably just fire the FDA and copy the EU if we can't fix our regulatory capture problem. I mean, I'm sure they're not perfect but we're a shitshow compared to them.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 20 2022, @05:39AM
Again, all I'm saying is I object to use of the word "processed". It's like people calling a cell phone a "device". "Process" a very generic word. Assigning a very specific meaning, like bleaching flour, needs to stop. Use a different word or coin a word.
I work in a food processing factory, but when I tell people that, they get the very wrong idea. I know exceedingly well what is and what is not done. Nothing is done to alter or damage the food in any way. Cooked foods like spaghetti sauce are bottled right out of the kettles, while still hot, into pre-steamed jars, and lids are immediately put on, also steamed. Other products like sodas are Pasteurized because they absolutely must be. It's a process.
Even bottling water is a process, so I'm going to start calling bottled water 'processed water'. That was sarcasm for those who whooshed.
I'm not a wordsmith, so I don't know what word to use, I'm just sick of inexact language, redefining words, using very generic words for very specific meanings, then wondering why the world has so much miscommunication. Small-minded people started the word misuse trend, and all I'm saying is that intelligent people should do all they can to rectify the situation.
And for those trolls who think I'm being pedantic, it's not pedantry, it's akin to "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"- people don't know what is okay to eat because they know everything is "processed", so they give up. Which is why the "Certified Organic" label had to be created.
Unless you pick it yourself, you can't be sure what was done. Even then you can't be sure what pesticides, if any, or fertilizers, or other growth enhancers have been used.
A good friend who grew up in Germany. She came to the US to go to uni, got an MBA, worked for years, but was horrified by our food. She gave up her corporate jobs, got an RD (registered dietitian), started a food health company, and is much happier that she's doing something more important than corporate pie charts, Venn diagrams, etc.
I like and agree with what you said about selective breeding vs. GMO. You get it. :)