Tell HN: College students are now considerably more fat | Hacker News Reader

Tell HN: College students are now considerably more fat

6 pointslifeplusplus6 comments

Just wanted to share a personal observation, I dropped out of college in 2012, and went to a coding bootcamp then got a job, worked my way from code monkey to sr dev, got bored after 5 years and thought why not finish degree just needed 1.5 of a semester. When I went back in 2018ish I really noticed how now at least 40% kids were fat. I'm obese too but not Walmart fat. Before there used to be like 2 people among 400. I felt alarmed and sad. I've struggled with weight all my life, don't even eat pizza or touch soda for years. I envy people who complain about not being able to gain weight. So it was sad knowing how much it sucks. So many now are way overweight. Which sucks because being handsome kind of matter more in 20s than say in 40s if you are married and have kids etc.

I also read that even wild animals are getting fatter. That's really big clue, why all humanity is getting obese. Maybe in future we will look back pitifully knowing the true reasons.

I have to suspect that the rise of obesity has something to do with something I'd describe as "3 kinds of appetite":

- one for taste (dopamine)

- one for energy (calories from carbs / fats)

- one for the resources that actually are required to build cells etc.

And basically you can satisfy the first two as much as you want but if you're eating low nutrient density food, your body will just make you eat enough of it until it's gotten what it takes to live. Of course this is a massive massive oversimplification.. but it does produce as an implication the hardly-disputed rule of thumb "eat nutrient dense food that is not excessively fatty/sugary/addictive"

Anecdata, but, I've also witnessed the reverse thing happen on college campuses where the food is overall pretty healthy, with rare treats - that people can lose weight. Goes without saying that it also depends on stress. And people tend to be really really stressed (by default and not exception) these days for whatever reason.

grim outlook due to already unaffordable and worsening cost of living?

The standard western diet:

Grains & pasta (bad) - Meat (bad) - Cheese (bad) - Sugar sugar sugar (bad) - processed foods (bad)

Basically everything in "cultural" cuisine slowly kills you. Point out anything as a general concept of a "meal" and you'll find that, yes, that meal is bad for you. Not surprising most people are fat

What's "good" then? Just non-starchy vegetables?

meat is fine. i actually feel mentally sharp if i do eat beef. But I also feel sluggish if i eat beef daily, once a week beef works for me. beef 1 day, chicken 3 days, fish 2 days, just beans/lentils 1 day.

"Cultural" cuisine is food meant for big-time holidays. Nobody thinks it's a good idea to have Thanksgiving dinner every single day.

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