MB Civic

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101400.html

By William Saletan | September 4, 2006 | The Washington Post

William Saletan covers science and technology for Slate, the online magazine at www.slate.com. As a confirmed science geek and physician with a background in English and drama, I have been a fan of his for years. He and Lawrence Altman of the New York Times do a superb job of accurately describing complex ideas clearly and without jargon, something I strive for with every patient I see. This is one of his best pieces ever.

If you are worried about your own health, and pay attention to what you eat along with what your neighbors eat, you will probably be struck by the central point of this BRILLIANT essay: Obesity has now become a disease of the poor, and ultra-cheap Fast Food actually does play a big role in the growing plague of obesity, even among children. You will get a taste of the crackling style in this brief quote:

“You no longer have to be rich to die a rich man’s death. Soon it’ll be a poor man’s death. The rich have Whole Foods, gyms and personal trainers. The poor have 7-11, Popeye’s and streets unsafe for walking. When money’s tight, you feed your kids at Wendy’s and stock up on macaroni and cheese. At a lunch buffet, you do what your ancestors did: store all the fat you can.

That’s the punch line: Technology has changed everything but us. We evolved to survive scarcity. We crave fat. We’re quick to gain weight and slow to lose it. Double what you serve us; we’ll double what we eat. Thanks to technology, the deprivation that made these traits useful is gone. So is the link between flavors and nutrients. The food industry can sell you sweetness without fruit, salt without protein, creaminess without milk.

We can fatten and starve you at the same time.” (emphasis mine)

…it’s a realio, trulio MUST READ…pass the edamame, please…BS