Obesity has been described by the WHO as the greatest health threat facing humanity. Obesity is obviously a question of energy balance (eating more calories than you burn). However, there is surprisingly little agreement among scientists as to how this energy imbalance comes about. However, scientists agree on one thing: obesity is not caused by personal failure. The obesity pandemic began about 40 years ago. Since the mid-70s/early 80s, statistics have shown a significant increase in the number of obese people. And no one is claiming that in the 1980s, people collectively lost their willpower and decided to become lazy and gluttonous from that point on.
What is striking is that at the same time there was a change in the food industry. A new type of food emerged: ultra-processed food. Food processing is thousands or even millions of years old: cooking, frying and salting to preserve food are forms of food processing. Later, more modern methods were added, such as pasteurisation. About 40 years ago, new processes were developed that made a whole new class of foods possible. These methods can be used to create combinations that are not actually found in nature. For example, rich in fat and carbohydrates. Foods are naturally either very fatty or very carbohydrate-rich.
The combination of the two makes it significantly more attractive, appealing to our instincts. These technical processes are also used to ‘design’ food so that it feels pleasant in the mouth or simply tastes good. Additives ensure a faster passage from the stomach and thus only a brief feeling of satiety. All these factors favour a significantly higher calorie intake than is actually necessary. And if genetic factors also increase the likelihood of binge eating, an unhealthy vicious circle can result.
Unfortunately, there are no natural mechanisms to prevent excessive calorie intake. Humans actually always live in danger of not getting enough food. The fact that we do not fall from one famine into the next is a real achievement of the modern age. Until about a hundred years ago, being able to get plenty of food was an advantage for survival in our society. The human body has not yet adapted to this new, constant availability. However, such adaptation processes usually take tens of thousands of years.
Why then don’t all people get fat?
Just as with smoking or other ‘drugs’, not everyone who comes into contact with the relevant substances becomes addicted. Genes do play a decisive role here: there are simply people who are genetically more susceptible to addictive behaviour. For example, only 21% of people who try cocaine become addicted to it. For alcohol, it is only 23%. And even with cigarettes, only two-thirds of occasional smokers become addicted to nicotine. If you are overweight, the genes do not cause you to store more fat, they cause you to consume more calories than you burn off.
The bottom line is: we don’t know exactly what causes obesity, but we do know one thing: it’s not your fault!
