For Those About to Guac
There have been few classes of drugs that have thoroughly swept through America like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. According to a recent survey, 1 in 8 US Adults Has Taken Ozempic or Other GLP-1 Drug. But there are some countries where these drugs are not in high demand. Why? Because there are not enough obese people. Japan is one of these places. It’s not just genetics. “It turns out that after 100 or so years, Japanese Hawaiians are now almost as overweight as the people they live among … So something other than genes explains Japan’s slimness. But what?” Johann Hari examines the many factors in Time: The Land That Doesn’t Need Ozempic. One stop was at a school where Hari saw a lunch scene very different from the typical American campus. “Once the meal was ready, [school nutritionist] Harumi carried a tray over to the office of the school’s head, Minoru Tanaka. It is a legal requirement that the principal of each school ensures lunches meet nutritional guidelines. It’s also customary for principals to have the same lunch as the kids and to eat it first, to make sure it’s safe, nutritious, and delicious. He rolled up his sleeves and dug in. After a moment, he nodded approvingly. Before they began to eat, a child stood at the front of the class and read out what today’s meal was, which part of Japan it came from, and how the different elements are good for your health.” At my school, they regularly served a Tater Tot clone that was somehow less healthy than a real Tater Tot.
+ “To understand America’s current ecstasy over avocado, we first need to dig into our former fear of fat. The 1990s was an era of fatphobia, goaded by soda-giant-funded studies intended to distract from the health risks of sugar. That decade ushered in a number of fat-free products, from cookies and American cheese in grocery aisles, to nonfat frozen yogurt in strip mall shops and low-fat milk in school cafeterias. Fat, the conventional wisdom went, made people fat.” Man, I miss those days. Taste: The US is breeding a new generation of avocado eaters.
+ Intermittent fasting is one of the hottest (and longest-lasting) diet trends. Does it really work? Or is it more about self-discipline than losing weight. The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Fad Diet to End All Fad Diets.
