The sublime piece of biological engineering that is the human body, is a complex system of systems, shaped by millions of years of selective adaptation and to all intents and purposes, it is the definition of perfection. Through a combination of traits, we have assented to the top of the hill, existing as the dominant species on the planet. Yet amongst all this genetic superiority, there are systems and feedback loops designed for an environment so radically different from the world we have fabricated, resulting in some instances where our bodies work against us.
We are currently living in a time where obesity is at epidemic proportions, increasing in both developed and developing countries, across all ethnicity and most shockingly in all age groups. When children are developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, as a society we have to take a step back and acknowledge this absurdity and say something is seriously wrong. Drawing back on last week’s article, these mechanisms that are making children obese are hard wired from a millennia of evolution and it is our modern eating habits that has opened Pandora’s box, unleashing the tidal wave of obesity. There is no bigger change to traditional human diet than the staggering high levels of fructose and its manufactured derivatives, and by playing on a system used to help us survive starvation, we have crated a negative feed back loop largely contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Where we went wrong
Fructose and fat storage
Written by David Lewis