The internet allows those with common interests to find one another and have intensive conversations, like those we have here on The Good Men Project. Another community of writers on the internet, those who believe in a Paleolithic lifestyle for health, is a subculture unto itself, with shared beliefs, Paleo celebrities like Robb Wolf, and historic beefs with mainstream and other alternative diet communities. Covering this beat, Jimmy Moore hosts conversations on health headlines in a podcast called Low Carb Conversations. In a recent podcast entitled, Why Americans Are So Fat, Dr. Brad Fackrell and Stefani Ruper talked with Moore and co-host “Dietitian Cassie” about Justin Cascio’s article of the same title, in which the GMP Senior Editor reaches some very Paleo conclusions on obesity.
In his article, Cascio describes obesity as malnutrition caused by industrial foodways, and argues against conventional wisdom on such mainstream orthodoxies as BMI and “calories in, calories out.” In Moore’s podcast, a conversation that ranges across the subjects of inflammatory diets, trans fats, health education, poverty, and free will, segues into a discussion of Cascio’s Why Americans Are So Fat when Moore asks, quoting the article, “‘The gluttony of food manufacturers is to blame for the obesity crisis, not individual eaters’ … . What do you think about that one, Stefani?”
After a pause and a nervous laugh, his guest, the Paleo for Women blogger and podcaster Stefani Ruper admits: “I buy it. I buy the argument.” She goes on to praise a book by Dr. David Kessler, The End of Overeating, that reveals “how the food industry has hijacked the brains of millions of Americans,” according to Amazon. Ruper talks about the importance of education in personal health, and agrees with the article’s conclusions that ignorance about the “calories in, calories out” myth and the effects of advertising are two factors largely responsible for the obesity crisis.
Exercising free will is expensive—in terms of education, willpower, and other resources—to combat what Ruper calls the “insidious” effects of food industry on government food policy and advertising.
Even the definition of health can be subverted by industry. As Jimmy Moore quotes the article in his podcast, Cascio reminds us that “‘Health isn’t measurable through a BMI. Health is a subjective measure of one’s well-being and includes physical, social, mental, emotional, and spiritual factors. It’s not just your risk of developing a serious illness, but how well you feel each day.’ … We need more of this kind of truth to get out there for people to make great changes.”
Congratulations, Justin on writing an article that is part of such an important conversation!
Read Why Americans Are So Fat by Justin Cascio
Couple hiding behind pizza boxes courtesy of Shutterstock
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