"Something is going on"

In the previous articles I have focused on one particular video of Dr Lustig and discussed several points he covered, adding my comments and sometimes even the contradicting information. I aimed to present the true, relevant and updated data and I tried to put the matter he presented into a wider context, because it was needed to provide you the whole picture, not just the cherry-picking of the information to support the apparent anti-sugar agenda. On the other hand, I did not comment on things with which I agreed (there were some) or had no more information to contradict his materials. 

I can see that Dr Lustig has been a busy man while I have been doing my research and completing my degree. He delivered similar lectures all over the world. In these he kept using the same materials with little addition here and exclusion there. He tried to make each presentation more relevant to the individual events at which he delivered his lectures but the same agenda was still there: sugar/fructose is the main villain in the constantly rising obesity levels and also other metabolic diseases. OK, the obesity suddenly is NOT a problem, according to Dr Lustig and other scientists, it is just the metabolic diseases that are dangerous and which, what a turn, cause obesity, not vice versa. Because I do not agree with these premise: the fructose role and the reversed causal relationship between metabolic disease and obesity, I continue with debunking these opinions. 

Here is another video he delivered in 2013 at Berkeley Lab's Nano High event. At about 9:00 minute he discusses how Japanese are very smart but now they perform bariatric surgery on Tokyo children, saying: 

"Something is going on."

Then he continues with counting the amount of energy of which the Americans eat more than 25 years ago. Then he questions: WHY?

You can see the burgers on the picture (not the one below), one containing over 1400 kcal and then he jumps to the Starbucks drinks focusing on Trenta of a volume almost 1 liter. This is a sugar sweetened drink, served cold, not a coffee. Then follows the discussions about what has been happening over time, in other countries, why exercise does not work (I will post an article about this one), etc... ending up with the sugar again, like if those burgers did not exist. 

Yes, something IS going on. People have easy access to the excess of convenient and palatable food rich in calories, cheaply and at the same time their energy expenditure has been decreasing due to the technological advancements. The food industry must be very pleased. 

But, when you look at the supermarket isles - do you think that it was only sugar that has been added to all the food? The picture above illustrates a typical junk food menu which does contain some sugar, but you can see that there is also a lot of fat and processed carbohydrates. No fruits, no vegetables, very little fiber. That piece of lettuce and a couple of pickle slices will not save the situation. The food industry has spread on the market in many directions, not only by adding sugar and producing low-fat range of their products. The amount of fast food outlets has also increased as has increased the consumption of fast food. What is typical for fast food? Cola? Milkshake? Yes, these are there too, but the fried stuff has seen its boom on the massive scale. The McDonald's even sell a deep-fried apple pie! THAT is going on. 

Here is a brief overview of the dietary trends in Asia. It is not only the sugar. Please refer back to my article about the high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) food addiction.