[xiaopingguo]

Seems more like people are refusing to listen to those who do actually know how to stop it. The resistance to LCHF/IF I've seen and experienced has been ridiculous. People just do not want to change or give up their precious carbs/sweets.

Of course LCHF promoters can do a lot more about concerns with sustainability, animal exploitation/ethics, convenience and so on, but anyone interested in fixing this problem already has the knowledge and tools to do so.

[victorhooi]

Yeah, I've yet to jump on this whole low-carb fad...lol.

Look, I'm not saying it doesn't work for some people, or some people just don't like the taste of bread/pasta - but to sell it as some instant weight-loss cure, or a magic cure-all for illness is overdoing it a bit.

It's like saying, I'm only going to eat seafood - damn, everybody else should eat seafood as well!

Ultimately, just being aware about what you eat - whether it is not eating eating carbohydrates, or only eating seafood, or only eating organic food from a certain brand - is better than just mindlessly eating what's in front of you, or near to hand.

The article states:

> The causes of the worldwide weight gain are complicated, and the story is different from country to country. There are some common trends: Rising incomes, global trade, changing food supplies, and declines in physical activity all contribute.

Basically - we're eating more, and exercising less.

So if we did the opposite - ate less, and exercised more - that would go some way to reversing the trend.

How exactly you choose to do those things is really a personal preference - I don't think we should prescribe that you need to do by eating less carbohydrates.

[xiaopingguo]

Calling something a fad or saying it is too complex to be solved is also part of the willful blindness people seem to have on this issue.

I think it is all part of a trend of outsourcing ownership of your health to doctors and hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry, all of whom have financial disincentives to really fix this issue. Nassim Taleb's writings on iatrogenics was really eye-opening in this regard.

[victorhooi]

I'm not really sure where you get the idea I'm claiming it's "too complex to solve"?

In fact, I said the exact opposite. It's very simple - eat less, and exercise more.

How you choose to do that is up to you.

To your other point - calling it a fad - it is most certainly a fad.

There are entire books and TV shows devoted to this low-carbohydrate phenomenon.

I've had friends who were previously •completely* uninterested in their health jump up and down in front of me, talking about how going "low-carb" changed their life, and how I should stop eating those evil carbohydrates, and stop eating so much fruit (I confess, I do eat a lot of fruit).

But try to get them to go for a run at lunchtime? Or reduce their portion size? Not on yoru life...lol.

And your final point, about "outsourcing ownership of your health to doctors and hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry"....I'm not really sure where you got that from my post.

Although now you do mention it - I do happen to trust doctors/hospitals. I don't believe they're in some vast conspiracy - on the whole, I think they're looking out for us. Their advice has been pretty constant for the last century or so.

Get fresh air, exercise, and eat things in moderations. I mean, if you think there's an "exercise lobby group", or a "eat smaller portions" conglomerate who are out to get you, sure.

But it's a bit like saying - "I have a cold, but my doctor said I should get some bed rest and drink lots of water" - conspiracy!

http://www.theonion.com/article/powerful-rest-and-fluids-ind...

Gosh, I love the Onion...haha.

Anyhow - summary - I don't think caring about what you eat is necessarily bad thing - just the very act of being conscious or what you're putting in your body is a good thing. But I think general guidelines - like, eat different foods in moderation are better, and easier for people to stick to over time.

[joch]

I have switched to an lchf based diet, and I have seen some tremendous health benefits such as lower weight, better mood and higher overall energy.

I saw a movie recently called That Sugar Film that explores this kind of eating. One of the key takeaways is it actually important where the calories come from and not just the amount.

http://thatsugarfilm.com/film/synopsis/

[soft_dev_person]

LCHF promoters have a marketing issue because it feels like a cult or a religion.

If they could just focus their message to "eat as little artificial sugar and starch as possible", I think fewer people would cry out in protest.

It's my takeaway, anyway. I lost 10 pounds in a month when I quit eating soft bread, pasta, potatoes and most sweets. My diet was basically hard bread with cheese for breakfast, salad for lunch, meat and vegetables for dinner.

It can be a very effective start to a lifestyle change. It can be hard to keep up, though (and expensive, depending on where you live).