Lifestyle: DIET Flashcards
View of Lifestyle in Recent Years
- Doctors & patients with unhealthy lifestyle
increasingly seen as **important DOH **
- doctors have actually refused treatment to patients who live unhealthy lifestyle → (smoke, alcohol, drugs, obese)
- argument is that it is a waste of resources to look after ppl who don’t look after themselves
Doctors have refused treatment to patients who live an unhealthy lifestyle
→ argue it is a waste of resource to take care of someone who doesn’t take care of themselves
PROBLEM WITH THIS APPROACH?
lifestyle is seen as determined by indiv decisions/choices
limited view of concept of lifestyle
Sociology’s view of lifestyle
lifestyle = how you live your whole life
shaped by indiv choices AND norms, routines & social structures established by society
decisions made in **social context **
(lifestyle has to fit into one’s social context & social position → determined by # of social variables
more broadly, lifestyle of popn has to fit into **structure of society **
To sociologists, Lifestyle is primarily determined by? **(2) **
1) type of society you live in
2) social position within that society
different (1) & (2) have dif typical lifestyles
Lifestyle - Sociologists View (general)
lifestyle = how you live your whole life
shaped by choices & norms/routines/social structure
- choices made in social context (have to fit into social position)
determined by (1) **type of society** (social context) & (2) **social position**
-lifestyle impacted by **social variables **which are largely outside one’s control
Diet & Exercise
main determinants of body weight & overall fitness level
dif types of society - dif typical patterns of diet & exercise
→ dif patterns lead to dif society’s having dif typical body types
Somatotypes
body types
- most widely used system for classifying body types developed by **William Sheldon **
argued ideal body type = mesomorph (lean & muscular)
- bodies diverge from this ideal in 2 directions
**ectomorph → **overly thin
**endomorph → **too fat
Course of History: body types
see simple progression of body types as society changes
**Hunter-Gatherer → **earliest form of society
- typical body type = **mesomorph **
**agricultural (11,000 BP) → **rise of class structure
- invented refined starch
- aristrocracy = mesomorphs
- majority of popn = **ectomorphs **
**Industrial → **more endomorphs
- invented refined sugar
This historical model of body types shows us that..
the type of society you live in shapes the type of body
Healthiest Society
Why?
Hunter-Gatherer
human body is product of millions of years of evolution
for over 90% of human evolution & 99% of human body evolution
→ lived HG lifestyle
- natural diet → not processed, not many grains or tubers
- *high** in protein, vitamins, minerals & fiber
- *low** in sugar, starch, carbs & fat
fish + lean & wild meat + green veggies = **main meal **
nuts & fruits = **snacks & dessert **
Agricultural Societ
**11,000 BP **(before present)
invented refined/processed **starch **
rise of class structure & **social inequality **
- aristrocracy → still **mesomorphs **(took all nutritious food)
- majority of popn → ectomorphs
- *-**peasants had less & less nutritious food
- had to live on cultivated crops (mostly tubers, grains, legumes) →high in starch & low in vit/prot
Industrial Society
began in 18th Century
invented processed/refined sugar
- made **fruits & nuts **available year-round
- (relatively high in natural sugars & starch) *
Human Evolution
Earliest Ancestors - Hominids **
- 6 million years ago → **broke away from apes by standing upright (developed **bipedalism) **
Gradually evolved into Homo genus
- began with **Homo Erectus **(2 million years ago)
→until reached Homo Sapiens (200,000 years ago)
- Through these millions of years of evolution, ancestors lived by H & G
→ only changed with development of Agriculture (11,000 BP)
Different crops became widespread in different parts of world
India & China → Rice
England & France → Wheat
- *Central/Latin America →** development of (3) crops
- *beans, squash & maize
- *so widespread that local religions referred to them as 3 sisters
Most of these crops didn’t even exist in form we know them today until agricultural society bred them into existence
(3) Examples
Rice → wild rice = black, long, thin, takes 3x longer to cook
- *Bananas → ** human invention - created by selective breeding
- began with plantains (like bananas but tougher & not sweet)
Invented Bread → original junk food of agricultural society
How has Agricultural Society changed foods?
bred foods to make them softer, sweeter & easier to cook
- made foods taste better & saved fuel (faster cooking time)
but foods have become higher in sugar & starch
→ more fattening & less healthy
Consequences for Health of Agricultural Society Diet
Aristrocracy (esp. men) had better diet
- grew to be taller, stronger, healthier
- Advantage over peasants
When peasants rebelled, Aristrocracy won more often
- keeping peasants weak/hungry was to their advantage
*
Consequences of HG Diet & Agricultural Diet in CDN history
(general)
Over long-term, peasant diet left many malnourished → weakened immune system
In Europe, after 1000s of years of farming, ground exhausted & couldnt keep up with growing popn
By 14th C → widespread malnutrition → series of epidemics
- those who survived eventually developed immunity
- diseases settled down in late 15th/16th C
When Euro settlers came to America in 16th C → exposed AB to virulent disease never seen before → estimates that 90% of AB popn killed in 17th & 18th C
Agricultural Society in Europe → Consequences of Agricultural Diet
peasant diet left many malnourished → weaker immune system
After 1000s of years of farming → ground exhausted, couldnt keep up with growing popn
By 14th C → widespread malnutrition
- series of epidemics swept across Europe in 14/15th C
worst was Black Death (Bubonic Plague)
By mid-14th C → killed 1/3 of Europe popn
survivors developed immunity - diseases settled in late 15/16C
Consequences of Agricultural Diet in Americas
Start of 16th C → Europeans came to Americas
- Expedition led by Aristrocracy but mostly peasants
- Reports sent back to Europe stated AB ppl here were taller, stronger, healthier & lived decade longer than Euro peasants
Diseases brought by Europeans had evolved → grown stronger
- more deadly/virulent than anything encountered be4
- health worked against them
in 17/18th C → estimated over 90% of Native popn died from Euro diseases
- smallpox, influenza, TB, leprosy
- rough estimate close to 100 mill died across N/S Am
- would b single worst demographic disaster in human history
Aboriginal population - decline & rise
Declined swiftly after contact with Euro settlers
continued to fall & only began to rise after WW2
Industrial Society
- body type?
- why?
More overweight ppl → Endomorphs
largely bc invented refined sugar
- added sugar to items already high in starch
- cake, cookies, cereals, choco, pop
- or added salt
- potato chips, pretzels, pasta
- ALL unhealthy, fattening & JUNK FOOD
Junk Food & Obesity
main reason obesity is becoming just as much of a socially caused health hazard in Industrial society as malnutrition was in Agricultural society
Primarily responsible for slowing turn more of us into popn of overweight endomorphs
Statistics on Canada Obesity
CIHI → 2005
- 23% of adults = obese (BMI > 30)
- in SK → 33% of men, 29% of women = obese
Adult Obesity rates almost doubled since 1978
- 1978 → 15% CDN kids = obese
- 2005 → 26%
Stats Canada → 2009
- 24% of adult CDNS = obese, 37% = overweight, 1% = underweight
- means ONLY 38% are at healthy body weight
Statistics on Obesity in USA
has highest obesity rates in world
American Obesity Association → 2004
- 30% of US adults = obese → doubled since 60s
-
26% of US children = obese → 2x since 70s, after held steady until 60s)
through 1990s, avg weight increased 1 lb per year (10 lbs over 10 years)
Health Problems & Obesity
Obesity itself is not issue
→ linked to health problems
– heart disease, high BP, diabetes, arthritis & several types of cancer
Statistics on USA Obesity-related Health Problems
2005 → US Center of Disease Control & Prevention
estimated 400,000 Am’s died from obesity-related illnesses
- 2nd only to smoking as top cause of death in US
- as smoking falls & obesity rises → basically even as 2 biggest killers
US children as young as 6 years old have died of O-R heart attacks
new saying among HC workers → obesity is the new smoking
Quotes about Obesity in the USA
James O’Hill – Nutritionist at Uni of Colorado
– About US today → “we’ve got fattest, least fit generation of kids ever”
Eric Schlosser – Author of Fast Food Nation
→ “no other nation in history has gotten so fat so fast”
→ points out that FF industry is making America fat (& rest of dvlp world)
Fast Food Industry → History
- Impact on Diet
Fast Food Franchises in US took off in **1950s **
- began with **Mcdonalds ** → founded by Ray Kroc
Invention of FF Industry had dramatic impact on American’s diets
1970 → Am’s spent 6 million on fast food
- 3/4 of food money spent on food prepped at home
2004 → spent 124 billion on fast food
Today, 50% of food money spent at restaurants (mostly FF)
Mcdonalds
- statistics
Founded by Ray Kroc
By 1968 – 1000 Mcdonalds restaurants
By 2005 →
- 14,000 in US
- 31,000 worldwide
In US → over 90% of children eat Mcdonalds at least once per month
Statistics on eating at Fast Food restaurants
in NA→ 1/4 adults & 1/3 teens eat FF rest every day
US → over 90% of kids eat Mcdicks at least once per month
Avg American eats 3 burgers & 4 portions of fries every week
(despite nutrit. recommend. eating FF once a month max)
FF Industry consequences
same consequences everywhere it goes
Canada, Japan, Europe - stats show when FF introduced, rates of obesity & obesity-related illnesses rise
→should be called Fast Fat Industry
→ Mcdonalds super-size
If evidence shows that FF makes ppl so unhealthy, why do so many ppl eat it?
Taste
Advertising
But mostly bc FF/junk food consisted of substances so processed, isnt really food anymore - should be classified as addictive drugs
Obesity in modern society is primarily caused by?
Explain
Addiction
Satisfying hungry does not make you fat
Satisfying addiction does → addicted to starch, sugar & fat
Why are sugar and starch addictive?
refined → unnaturally high in carbs
→raise insulin levels →blood sugar imbalance → carb cravings
Doctor Rachael & Richard Heller
- insulin
- low cal diet
describe insulin as hunger hormone
- argue that even smell of some high-carb food can trigger release of insulin making you hungry
argue that low cal diets based on portion restriction create pattern of “deprivation, frustration & capitulation”
Doctor Robert Lustig
Prof at Uni of Cali, San Fran
argues current situation is insulin nightmare engineered by FF companies
Refine Starch & Sugar = most fattening items in world
Why?
most easily converted into carbs (body’s fuel supply)
sugar = natural high E biochemical fuel
refined sugar is like rocket fuel
- will turn into fat if not burned off immediately
starch - chemically similar to sugar → milder but similar effect
- starch→sugar→carbs → burned off or turn to fat
How are sugars, fats, starch & artificial sweeteners like drugs?
Effect is typical of any man-made addictive drug
→short-term pleasure but poor health in long-term
trigger insulin release & carb cravings
According to New Zealand study, Obesity in Western Society primarily caused by?
2009 New Zealand Study - says obesity in West Society primarily caused by carb addiction
- addicted to foods with high glycemic index - quickly raises BS
Western Gov & Drugs
Western gov spends billions on eliminating health risks of substances (cocaine& heroine) when real killer white powders are sugar & flour
- responsible for health problems on larger scale
Fats & Health Effects
slightly different → fat does NOT make you fat
Animal fat = complex substance - takes long time to break down into carbs →most is burned off, flushed out
- this is why low-carb diets (Atkins/South Beach) recommend low-carb & high-fat
Problem with High-Fat Diet
high levels of saturated fats → act on body in similar manner to high level of carbs
- raise insulin levels→ carb cravings
- indirectly cause you to eat more high-carb foods
Fast Food Industry & Fat content
discovered many years ag that high-fat content makes customers come back for more
→ reason why increased fat content for decades
Only since 1990s, ppl more aware of health risks & industry slightly reduced fat content
3 basics of Fast Food Industry
Sugar
Starch
Fat
Artificial Flavoring
FF industry employ flavorist to create new artific. flavors
→ in US: 10,000 new processed foods introduced annually
(most have artific. flavoring)
US flavor industry
By 2001 → revenue of 1.4 billion
- most artif. flavors contain chemicals legal but addictive
- many contain glutamates → MSG
- also artificial sweeteners
artificial sweeteners
companies claim they make food healthier & less fattening
BUT any chemical tasting sweet → raise insulin → carb craving
INDIRECTLY leads to weight gain
Wealthy vs. Poor Diet in Modern Society
Wealthy → eat well & not junk food (lobster, steak)
Majority → increasingly turned into junk-food junkies & couch potatoes (junk food for body & mind)
- content to slowly ruin own health to feed Capitalism’s endless need for consumption & Corps endless need for profit
Solution to Obesity → common belief
Told over & over → solution = diet
BUT not that simple
Since 50s/60s, Western Society bombarded with numerous diets based on (2) principles
1) Reducing Calories
2) Portion Restriction
1) Reducing Calories
- Problem?
carbs = bodys fuel suppy (not calories)
- to lose weight, focus on carbs not cals
- like measuring temp in kg (wrong tool for job)
Short-term success but long-term failure
- restrict but don‘t eliminate sugar
- enough to stay addicted but not satisfy craving
- permanent state of withdrawal symptoms
- ends up obsessing about food 24/7
2) Portion Restriction
- problem?
will lose weight in short-term if you eat less
but can’t go hungry forever → gain weight back once off diet
Limited Success of Low-cal diets
by forcing ppl to go hungry → restricts sugar & starch bc they are high carb as well as high cal
BUT:
add in own brand of processed foods (contain addictive drugs)
- limiting but not eliminating drug keeps them addicted but not satisfied
→ withdrawal symptoms + hunger = food obsession 24/7
When diets fail..
Dieter is always blamed →lack of willpower, laziness
Sociologists argue this is form of blaming the victim (common in our society)
In reality, FF industry should be blamed for making ppl sugar addicts without their knowledge or consent
- diet pills
Diet Pills
another solution to obesity proposed by pharm industry
- make money selling you addictive chemicals & diet pills that try to get off addiction
Solution to Obesity
go back to HG diet - humanity’s original diet
- natural foods (not processed)
- meat, veggies (not sugar & starch)
- rediscovered in late 20th Century - **Atkins/South Beach/Paleolithic Diet ***
- low carb diets
- abandon 2 basic principles of conventional diets
Culture has created fear of fat
translated into **fear of calories **& fear of food
- led to rise of eating disorders that didnt exist beore FF industry in **50s **
How can eating disorders be eliminated?
when society learns that effective weight control isn’t about starving yourself & has everything to do with choosing to eat healthy natural non-addictive low/no carb foods & not becoming a sugar addict
- not all foods are bad
