Don't Eat What You Like

I caught the local news tonight.  They do a feature about being healthy and tonight's was about a new study regarding our eating habits.  It is another situation where I can't believe that somebody (probably you and I via taxes) funded this study as it is really stupid!



The study was to determine if there was a relationship between eating food you like and overeating.  The result of the study was that you are more likely to overeat if you eat food you like and that if you eat food you don't like you are likely to eat a lot less.  Who would have thought of that?  I could have told them that!  Dang, I really need to find out where to get funded for a horribly stupid study that is based on common sense.  I guess these people didn't take into account that most of us eat what we like for a reason, we like it!


But the "real research" behind the study is that there is an endorphin that is released when you like the food that prevents you from feeling full as quickly.  That's another holy crap moment!  Imagine, something that gives you pleasure causes your body to release endorphins!  From my limited understanding of the body, the release of endorphins is the sign of enjoyment.  That is supposed to be a good thing for other health reasons!


I don't personally believe it is the endorphin that is the real cause of the problem.  The real problem is that we are a society obsesses with large portions that are very high in fat, sodium, and sugar.  And these portions aren't just a little large, they are huge and getting bigger all the time.  As we have learned more and more about the role of fat and heart disease you would think that fat would be reduced in the foods that we eat.  But if you figured this you would be sadly wrong, it has in fact gone just the opposite way.  If you watch just about any cooking show they will say over and over that fat is flavor.  They even glamorize things that are extremely high in fat.  Ever heard of Kobe beef or the American equivelant Waygu?  This stuff is about 60% lean at it's leanest yet people will pay well over $20 per pound for the stuff.


I don't believe for a minute that our problem truly lies in the hands of endorphin release preventing you from feeling full.  It has to do with our society and the pressure that we feel from those around us to eat large portions.