The media is filled with articles about the obesity epidemic in the West, with attribution to various sources (whether glandular problems, "fat genes", high-carb diets, overeating, lack of time to cook, etc). I was pondering the subject for a few minutes today, and came to think that maybe the main cause of obesity is a failure to adjust caloric intake from a previously appropriate high level to a much lower level.
Something like over 90% of the world's population was once engaged in agriculture. Even as we transitioned to the modern age most jobs were fairly labor-intensive until fairly recently. In today's modern world, most jobs are fairly sedentary.
The peasants who formed the mass of the populations in agricultural lands must have required an enormous caloric intake in comparison to what is appropriate today for the average Westerner. I'm thinking something along the lines of over 4000 calories a day. Now the recommended daily intake for the average man is something like 2500-3000 calories a day?
Just a bit of rambling, any thoughts?
Something like over 90% of the world's population was once engaged in agriculture. Even as we transitioned to the modern age most jobs were fairly labor-intensive until fairly recently. In today's modern world, most jobs are fairly sedentary.
The peasants who formed the mass of the populations in agricultural lands must have required an enormous caloric intake in comparison to what is appropriate today for the average Westerner. I'm thinking something along the lines of over 4000 calories a day. Now the recommended daily intake for the average man is something like 2500-3000 calories a day?
Just a bit of rambling, any thoughts?
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