We Eat Too Much
Published 4.8.2025: Marion Nestle is the next presenter I watched, and she also didn't have slides. Interestingly, so far as I know, Nestle is not vegan. Her talk was entitled, The Perfect Storm. The first question that AJ asks is, "Why are we so fat?" And Nestle's prompt answer is, "Because we eat too much!" Actually, she may have said we eat too many calories, but the point is the same.
Nestle is a big "blame the food industry" advocate. She thinks that food companies are nefariously altering our foods to get us to eat more. (No wonder food companies are afraid of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs— though as we will learn through the summit, they aren't the only ones.)
Nestle notes that larger portions have more calories, and portion sizes have been increasing over time. Portions in the 1960s and 1970s were much smaller than current portions. And food is sold everywhere… and people eat everywhere. Nestle relates a story about the library at New York University. When she started, food was not allowed in the library, now you can eat in the library.
Portion inflation started in the 1980s. She blames Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, who made a speech that the only goal of a company was to make money for their shareholders. Nothing has been the same since. To increase shareholder returns, food quality suffered. The only issue was the keep costs low and keep people eating.
Nestle thinks that larger portions don't get enough attention, and Barbara Rolls presented data on the effect of portion sizes (and how people do NOT adjust how they eat if the portion is larger). But more on that in the piece about her presentation.
Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are a new category, and her definition of UPF is that consumers could not make an identical food at home. Either because they lack the equipment, or the additives required to make it. With UPF (this is Kevin Hall's data) people eat more (500-800 calories more) without realizing it.
Also notes that UPF is shelf-stable, fruits and vegetables are not—which would be an issue for someone with a limited amount of money and mouths to feed.
I did not realize that 50% of corn grown goes to gas. Some soy (she did not say how much) goes to diesel, but I thought most soy was for animal feed.
She thinks that sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are the first area to cut. She thinks that portion sizes need to be shrunk, vs using artificial sweeteners. If kids are introduced to UPF and/or SSB early in life, they will always choose it. Humans will always choose the sweeter option.
Her line is: the longer the shelf-life, the shorter your life. Which I actually think is pretty clever. She also believes in food addiction— in part because of the way glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs work. For a lot of people they quiet the food noise, and people eat less.
Nestle notes that the US healthcare system is awful, and that if people get sick, they are on their own. Not being fat is a great way not to be sick.
Nestle ends by noting that she is for profit, but not greed. I wish she would have shown slides during this presentation, but it is what it is.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT any type of medical professional. Do NOT take medical advice from me!!
Nestle is a big "blame the food industry" advocate. She thinks that food companies are nefariously altering our foods to get us to eat more. (No wonder food companies are afraid of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs— though as we will learn through the summit, they aren't the only ones.)
Nestle notes that larger portions have more calories, and portion sizes have been increasing over time. Portions in the 1960s and 1970s were much smaller than current portions. And food is sold everywhere… and people eat everywhere. Nestle relates a story about the library at New York University. When she started, food was not allowed in the library, now you can eat in the library.
Portion inflation started in the 1980s. She blames Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, who made a speech that the only goal of a company was to make money for their shareholders. Nothing has been the same since. To increase shareholder returns, food quality suffered. The only issue was the keep costs low and keep people eating.
Nestle thinks that larger portions don't get enough attention, and Barbara Rolls presented data on the effect of portion sizes (and how people do NOT adjust how they eat if the portion is larger). But more on that in the piece about her presentation.
Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are a new category, and her definition of UPF is that consumers could not make an identical food at home. Either because they lack the equipment, or the additives required to make it. With UPF (this is Kevin Hall's data) people eat more (500-800 calories more) without realizing it.
Also notes that UPF is shelf-stable, fruits and vegetables are not—which would be an issue for someone with a limited amount of money and mouths to feed.
I did not realize that 50% of corn grown goes to gas. Some soy (she did not say how much) goes to diesel, but I thought most soy was for animal feed.
She thinks that sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are the first area to cut. She thinks that portion sizes need to be shrunk, vs using artificial sweeteners. If kids are introduced to UPF and/or SSB early in life, they will always choose it. Humans will always choose the sweeter option.
Her line is: the longer the shelf-life, the shorter your life. Which I actually think is pretty clever. She also believes in food addiction— in part because of the way glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs work. For a lot of people they quiet the food noise, and people eat less.
Nestle notes that the US healthcare system is awful, and that if people get sick, they are on their own. Not being fat is a great way not to be sick.
Nestle ends by noting that she is for profit, but not greed. I wish she would have shown slides during this presentation, but it is what it is.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT any type of medical professional. Do NOT take medical advice from me!!