Overall, through the addition of a fat and something sugary, the appeal of a food item has increased drastically. According to this article, the main reasoning is that fats and sugars have one thing in common; they have very high concentrations of energy. Evolutionary, originating in animals, those that seeked food sources that contained higher amounts of energy would be more successful, therefore the brain is more satisfied by these foods. This idea leads to the craving of fats and sugars that modern humans have.
Generally, children have a higher affinity to sweet and fatty foods than adults. Because children have not fully developed their taste system, the first foods that we learn to like are the aforementioned food groups. This ensures that all developing children will receive adequate energy from their food while liking the taste.
Another trend that is observed is the state of social development in a nation based on its obesity, which is derived from average amount of sugar and fats consumed. Undeveloped nations such as Yemen and Afghanistan contain very few obese people due to a lack of ability to afford high-sugar and high-fat products. Once a nation has been developing, it will go through a phase of high consumption of high energy foods, observed in places such as Egypt and Mexico. Developed nations with high wealth disparity also have high rates of obesity, such as Saudi Arabia and the United States. Nations that have fully developed socially endure a final phase of returning to eating less energy rich foods due to health concerns and a lesser need of high calorie foods with more idle lifestyles. Examples of this trend include Spain and France.
Overall, the differing reactions to certain foods by our taste buds is not just one of life's greatest indulgences and the modern person's largest threat to health, but it can even give insight to society as a whole.
Posted by Isaac Collibee (7)
I found this article very interesting, since there is a trend that people in our country enjoy eating sugary foods. What do you think causes people to become picky eaters? I've heard of people that can get sick from just thinking about trying to eat a vegetable, but they are totally fine eating a fatty, unhealthy food.
ReplyDeletePosted by Lauren Shone
I feel like picky eating cant be pin pointed to once particular explanation. I've heard that it can partially be a genetic trait, or even to the exposure to different flavors in the amniotic sack in the womb. It also could likely be an eating disorder in some people. But if you think about it evolutionarily, it probably was better for early humans to stick to eating one type of food rather than going around trying a bunch of different plants that could potentially poisonous.
DeletePosted by Lauren Mason
I believe the largest factor in picky eating is the types of food consumed at a young age. Personally I do not like avocado because my father did not like it, nor am I a fan of mayo because neither of my parents used it much. Conversely, I enjoy barbecue, Italian food, and Salvadorian food likely more than average because that is what I grew up with in my household. My parents were also strict with me finishing my food so I never became too picky. This is just my assumption though, that it mostly has to do with how eating is done in the first years of life.
Delete- Posted by Isaac Collibee
Personally, I loved this article as it made me think back to a lecture covered in my evolution class from sophomore year. This type of preference for fatty foods that is seen in modern society can actually cause an evolutionary mismatch with the biological processes in our body. Most of our evolutionary history took place in a time when the Homo sapien diet consisted mainly of lean meats and fruits. Thus, our body has an abnormally hard time processing the substantial amounts of carbohydrates and fats that most of us ingest on a daily basis. Ultimately, this can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. However, many of these common issues can be solved by consuming a diet that fits our genetic makeup. All of the foods that are consumed by one on this diet are based around lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. Any foods introduced after the development of agriculture, such as grains and dairy, should not be consumed based upon the principles of this diet. While a change in diet is not 100 percent proven to cure these ailments your article is a reminder that there is indeed an evolutionary explanation as to why we eat the way we do and how this choice might affect our bodies!
ReplyDeletePosted by James Levangie
this article is very interesting because i actually never thought of a reason why in countries like Yemen obesity is not as big as it is here. it makes sense that since bigger developed countries have a higher percentage of obesity, we have access to so much processed food that has so much sugars and many other things. I wonder to what point did France for example, get to in order to start eating less energy rich foods due to health concerns .
ReplyDeleteposted by Pam Jimenez
I enjoyed reading this post as well as the article. Before reading I never gave much thought on why most people enjoy sugar or fats in their diets, it was just like a known fact in general. Sugars are often thought as being unhealthy and should not be included in our diets. In additionally, some think that sugar is directly correlated with weight gain. I was wondering are there any research done particular on the direct effects of sugar on our bodies.
ReplyDelete-Emily Wong
I found this post very interesting since I recently read another article that discussed the impact of a high fat diet on the physiology of the hypothalamus. The article I read talked about how high fat diets stimulate over activity in the hypothalamic microglia, resulting in hypothamamic inflammation. The interesting thing about this inflammation, is that it actually stimulates the release of a hormone that encourages a person to eat more, almost like a positive feedback mechanism. I agree with your evolutionary perspective that this mechanism was at one time beneficial, however its interesting that it is now threatening our health. Do you have any further thoughts on the evolutionary origin of this affinity for high fat and high sugar diets?
ReplyDeletePosted by Kayla Rosiello
I believe the majority of the explanation has to do with how an ounce of fat can give your body more energy than muscle. I also think that because of the usual diet of plant materials and the occasional lean meat from deer and the like, fatty acids were a more rare type of essential food, explaining why it became something that tastes good over time. Since those why liked it more seeked it more and survived longer.
DeletePosted by Isaac Collibee
DeleteThis article was really interesting to read. I never knew that affinity for certain foods was socially driven as well as biologically. This does make sense, though. I remember learning that, in the United States, heath trends started the popularity "non fat" foods. But non fat foods needed to contain more sugar in order to taste good to consumers. This is partly why we have so much sugar content in our foods today. And also why we prefer to eat foods with more sugar added.
ReplyDeletePosted by Meagan Gustafson
They are addicted to sugars because sugars are addicting in nature and fats just taste better because they are made to be eaten in abundance. Fats are eaten by organisms in abundance to get fat and stay warm in the winter.
ReplyDelete- King Wahib