Why we get fat, with David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson
David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson are biologists who have dedicated their careers to trying to understand how animals decide how much to eat and what to eat. They started with insects, and then moved on to small mammals, and ended up looking at humans, and they've chronicled their research in their book "Eat Like the animals".
What they've discovered is that most animals, including humans, have five different appetites - for protein, carbohydrate, fat, sodium, and calcium. One of these five, the appetite for protein, is however dominant, and is the prime determinant of how much we eat.
What that means is that when we're in a dietary environment where the foods we're eating are low in protein, then we'll overeat and consequently gain weight. That is why modern humans, living in a food environment rich in processed foods that are particularly low in protein, are so prone to becoming obese.
In this interview, I talk to David and Stephen about their research findings, and get their opinion on what people should do if they want to lose weight, and also on what societies should do in order to create healthier populations.
In the extended version of the interview that's only available to patrons, we also discuss some experiments that David and Stephen have done that suggest that a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates, while optimal as a treatment for obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, isn't optimal from the perspective of maximising longevity in people who aren't metabolically unhealthy. This creates a difficult balancing act, especially from the perspective of public health policy, where one recommendation appears to be optimal for the metabolically unhealthy, while a different recommendation is optimal for those who are already healthy and want to maximize their longevity.
Patrons can get access to the full-length version at www.patreon.com/sebastianrushworth
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/sebastianrushworth)
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