You are reading a single comment by @h2o and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@h2o
I guess the point is that people have become more focused on what they think they should believe instead of listening to their own bodies.
Our unhealthy relationship with food stems largely from the fact that we grow up with a binge/starve cycle from our early years, are told to eat quantities that are not necessarily appropriate to our metabolisms, and then are told that we are either too fat/thin on top of it all.
All of which makes food something that people are scared of and don't know how to interact with.
We should be able to enjoy a hearty meal when we want to but we should also know to go easy on the food when we're inactive. There shouldn't be a constant feeling of shame about how we look or how we eat - but equally we should be aware that extreme thinness or fatness are not good for our health.
But if we all ate simply, it'd be harder for people to sell us crap we don't need.
I once worked as a temp in the office of a major confectionery company. I read a draft of an advertising strategy document for the coming year. They'd just launched bite-sized versions of their most popular chocolate bars. They were pitched at working-aged women - mainly 20-35 - who comfort eat. The rationale being that they would persuade themselves that the smaller bars were 'less bad' than eating a whole one. Of course, they come in massive tubs of smaller bars, so there's more available to gorge on.
The utter cynicism of preying on people's psychological blindspots like that sickened me to my core. I don't buy anything made by that company any more (which is quite hard, actually).