> "which is fantastic advice ... and advice that a great many people don't bother to follow"
At least a large part of this is due to lack of education. For all the time we spend on math and science in public schools, we spend none of it on some basic principles like nutrition.
I was rather obese in high school, and the (Canadian) government foot the bill for nutrition courses and consultations with a dietitian (this is a big can 'o worms too: preventative programs like this are way easier in a single-payer system).
I now have the ability to judge what's good for me, and what isn't, as well as effective alternatives to existing choices. That knowledge has been instrumental in my weight loss.
The problem with that "fantastic advice" is that it's rarely coupled with real constructive suggestions. "Eat less and eat healthier, fatass" is unproductive when the person lacks the knowledge to make effective choices, and alternatives to break entrenched habits aren't presented. Sure, a Big Mac is universally unhealthy, but what do you replace it with? A grilled cheese sandwich isn't much better, nor are a lot of "healthier looking" alternatives (anything with mayo slathered in it is dietary suicide, regardless of how much greens you stick in it also). How do you curb hunger when in the process of downsizing your portions? Curling up in a corner isn't super effective. Blood sugar management throughout the day to get you through the rough patches? None of this is trivial knowledge.
Of course, the factor making all of this substantially worse is that the signal to noise ratio in dietary literature is horrific. For every real, researched book on effective diets, you have 3 more fad diets backed up by voodoo and pseudoscience.
Actually, I was taught a lot about basic nutrition in school. Low fat was good, complex carbohydrates were good. 4 food groups. Now apparently that is all wrong?
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> "which is fantastic advice ... and advice that a great many people don't bother to follow"
At least a large part of this is due to lack of education. For all the time we spend on math and science in public schools, we spend none of it on some basic principles like nutrition.
I was rather obese in high school, and the (Canadian) government foot the bill for nutrition courses and consultations with a dietitian (this is a big can 'o worms too: preventative programs like this are way easier in a single-payer system).
I now have the ability to judge what's good for me, and what isn't, as well as effective alternatives to existing choices. That knowledge has been instrumental in my weight loss.
The problem with that "fantastic advice" is that it's rarely coupled with real constructive suggestions. "Eat less and eat healthier, fatass" is unproductive when the person lacks the knowledge to make effective choices, and alternatives to break entrenched habits aren't presented. Sure, a Big Mac is universally unhealthy, but what do you replace it with? A grilled cheese sandwich isn't much better, nor are a lot of "healthier looking" alternatives (anything with mayo slathered in it is dietary suicide, regardless of how much greens you stick in it also). How do you curb hunger when in the process of downsizing your portions? Curling up in a corner isn't super effective. Blood sugar management throughout the day to get you through the rough patches? None of this is trivial knowledge.
Of course, the factor making all of this substantially worse is that the signal to noise ratio in dietary literature is horrific. For every real, researched book on effective diets, you have 3 more fad diets backed up by voodoo and pseudoscience.
Actually, I was taught a lot about basic nutrition in school. Low fat was good, complex carbohydrates were good. 4 food groups. Now apparently that is all wrong?