How in that time did portion sizes change? Consumption of soda? You also have the introduction of home tv’s then computers leading to more sedentary activities at home. Along with other home appliances making cleaning easier. What was the shift from home cooked, made from scratch meals to meals eaten out or prepared by others which tend to be higher calorie per bite? What are other factors like growth hormones in meat and dairy products? What about the shift in consumption to processed soy and corn in our diets? The rise of food like products that have been engineered to keep making us want to eat. So many factors.
Discussion
Totally agree that the body is a complex system, this is a very astute observation. Do you think there is any use at trying to look at "meta-trends" , or for simplicity's sake , apply a little reductionism in an effort to find a simple answer? Is there a simple answer?
After reading the statement above again. Two things jumped out. There were food shortages into the 1950’s. Even upper middle class families typically only had one car into the 60’s. So every household member of driving age didn’t typically have their own car like you see know.
In other words , people had more of an incentive to exercise?
I think a useful metric to consider, and this was inspired by what you were saying, are the difference in reasons for somebody to leave their place of residence.
I think reductionism is the enemy of true understanding.
I think complexity is the enemy of the bottom-rung of understanding.
You have to be able to explain things to people at different levels of understanding. But I’m seeing a trend towards reductionism that is affecting understanding. Have you seen the YouTube series where they take an expert in a field and have them explain the same concept several times from a child to I think a PhD student or maybe it’s another expert in the field?
No I have not, perhaps you could provide a link?
Totally agree btw , I think it shows tremendous virtue to to neither talk down to someone, while being able to spot a charlatan.
The author is comparing apples and oranges is your observation ? Do you see any merit in what they are saying?