"worthless, regurgitated, patronising rubbish"

Jamie Oliver has waded in to the argument about the governments current program for action on obesity, which resolves to:

• "Reducing the number of calories we consume is essential. It can happen if we continue action to reduce calories in everyday foods and drinks, and if all of us who are overweight take simple steps to reduce our calorie intake."

Oliver called this approach "worthless, regurgitated, patronising rubbish".  Good man Jamie.


There are a few questions to ask of those in government who keep pushing the idea to 'eat less and do more':

1. What is the purpose of hunger?  What is its evolutionary context?
2. What should signal to us that we are 'full'?
3. If the obese are guilty of 'mindless eating' - ie eating when not hungry, why do we pursue food rather than drink, or read ,or partake in some other activity like simply watch TV to alleviate the boredom? 
4. Why don't the obese stop eating until they are lean once again?  I mean it is not as if the obese have a lack of energy (albeit in stored form) so why can't they go further between refuelling?
5. If 'eating less' is the answer why not simply 'do more'?
6. If you wanted to compel yourself to eat more than usual (perhaps in the context of a celebratory meal), would you recommend we 'do more' activity in the preceding period to 'work up an appetite'?
7. If you wanted to compel yourself to eat more than usual (perhaps in the context of a celebratory meal), would you recommend we 'eat less' in the preceding period to 'ensure we don't blunt our appetite'?

When I need to drink I trust my thirst to tell me, when I need to sleep, I trust my sense of fatigue, and when I need to eat, I trust my sense of hunger. I am lean (190cm, 84kg and 30 inch waist). I don't have to count calories nor restrict intake, and I eat a large amount of food (cuts of lamb that are badged up 'feeds 4-5').

Could it be that I rarely eat food that, from raw, could not be prepared over a campfire with little more than a knife and a pan?

You could frame mineral and vitamin deficiencies in the same manner.  Where do pill-pushers think we evolved a dependency on vitamins and minerals and where do they think we used to get them from?  If you are short of particular vitamins and minerals you are NOT eating the 'right' foods (or in the case of vitamin D, not getting out in to sunshine sufficiently often).  It is NOT the case that you are not eating enough vitamin pills!