Another slice of pie, anyone?
By Keith Roulston
We’re into the cold months now and if you’re like me there’s the temptation to eat an extra piece of pie for dessert to help get through the boredom of the winter.
A recent Globe and Mail column by Dr. Andre Picard, reviews the new book Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us, by Julius Belluz and Kevin Hall about how obesity rates have soared and can largely be explained by rapid changes in the food environment, including massive increases in both food production and ultra-processed foods, not simply individual food choices.
The book casts doubt on the concern I’ve often expressed about the loss of farmland in southern Ontario as urban areas have expanded. But the authors argue that since 1980, the prevalence of obesity has doubled in 70 countries. Nowhere is the increase more striking than the U.S., where 70 per cent of Americans are considered overweight or obese, including one-third of children. It is not a coincidence that, in that 45-year period, food has become more available – and more processed.
This kind of goes against the topic of many media accounts that talk about the rising cost of food and the number of people who have turned to food banks to stretch their food budget. Of course, at the same time as we have people living in tents on the street, we have more people than ever travelling by air to exotic locations around the world.
The book features some fascinating historical context. We are reminded, for example, that in the 1970s, biologist Paul Ehrlich was warning of the potential for mass starvation in America because of population growth. Policymakers took the Malthusian warnings in his book The Population Bomb seriously. Agricultural output was ramped up dramatically, especially of four core crops: corn, wheat, soy and rice, as well as livestock. Today, the U.S. produces a “calorie glut”: the equivalent of 15,000 calories a day per capita of food. With such oversupply, much of the food goes to feed animals and to ultra-processed food products, with the rest used for biofuels.
The authors, Dr. Picard says, remind us that, in our vast grocery stores, virtually every product is derived from the four core crops, with some salt, sugar, and artificial colours and flavours thrown in. The book focuses on the food environment, and how it makes calorie-dense ultra-processed foods almost irresistible (and more affordable than whole foods) to the point that it’s rewiring our brains.
Yet, we are reminded that we place all the burden on individuals to find wellness fixes.
The environment we have created makes it easy to eat, and overeat. At the same time, we have an obsession with fatness (or perhaps thinness) that has spawned trillion-dollar diet and exercise industries, and spurred countless millions to seek surgery, medication and engage in all manner of ritualistic self-abuse.
Ms. Belluz and Dr. Hall make the depressing observation that, while there is an endless array of fad diets, none are particularly effective.
The authors also remind us, Dr. Picard writes, that the science of body fat is complicated. Fat is not all bad; it is essential to good health. After all,, it is our principal way of storing energy. But not all fat is created equal; when it surrounds our organs, it gets dangerous.
And if you start losing fat, the body will compensate by slowing your metabolism, making it difficult to maintain weight loss. It sure was easier back in the day when we lived on farms, ate from the garden and worked outside most of the day.
This is a lot to think about as I contemplate that extra piece of pie, of course. Especially when I’m still recovering from Christmas.◊