I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy a bag of crisps, or a side of french-fried potatoes. But recent trends in global health have driven many to pay more attention to their eating habits. Many ideas swirl around daily on the internet, suggesting that we limit the intake of one food or another; some say we should not eat much meat, or say we should only eat meat, while others declare that carbohydrates are to blame. Although many of the diverse voices offer compelling arguments for their claims, we are far from forming a consensus, as a society. It is into this maelstrom of controversy that I submit my position, in hopes to quell the storm: We should blame, more than any other dietary trend, the prevalence of starchy foods, and in particular, potatoes, in our daily meals for the rising levels of obesity, worldwide. This is primarily due to its profitability and tendency to increase oil consumption. In this essay, I will explain the details of this relation.
Potatoes are cheap. They aren't so delicous on their own, but they also contain a lot of starch. Starch just happens to be excellent at soaking up oil. This means that they can trick our bodies into thinking they're delicious. Let me explain: Biologically, our bodies are conditioned to seek out high-energy food to ensure our survival. For thousands and thousands of years, the primary source of high-energy-content food was fat from animals. When we eat fatty foods, our brains congratulate us for being excellent hunters, basically. We feel assured of our continued survival, and of the survival of our descendants. In this modern era, we've developed advanced ways of obtaining fat (in the form of oil) from many different sources. One of the most cost-effective sources of this high-energy oil is from vegetables. But drinking oil is unpaletable - it needs a vessel, and starchy foods are the very best. This could be anything from bread to noodles, but nothing soaks up oil quite like the common potato. Because potatoes and the oil we cook them in is very cheap, and because oily food is very good at tricking our brains into thinking we are successful (and rewarding us with dopamine and other pleasure senses), this makes the potato's inclusion in many menus a no-brainer. We can't get enough of them. And the people who sell them to us are getting rich doing it.
So, fried potatoes are essentially a trick. They're telling our brains that we're well-nourished, even if the quality of those nutrients isn't the same as those which would be found in fatty meat. Many people for one reason or another, don't even enjoy the taste of meat, but they still enjoy the taste of oily potatoes. It's in our biology - we can't get away from it. Unleashed in our cosumer-driven society, it becomes a deadly trap. Economically, vendors are forced to give us this unhealthy hit of happiness. Also economically, many people are unable to find happiness in more expensive goods, and rely on the $1 bag of crisps to get them through the day. This profitability and ease of access is resulting in widespread potato-use worldwide, and the growing numbers of obese people prove it. To put it plainly, people are unable to resist the marketing, and in their desire for happiness, they are consuming more oil than they need too. The equation is simple: too much fat in, too much fat on.
In conclusion, the reasons for growing obesity worldwide may be varied, but the ubiquity of oily potatoes, and the unique socio-economic effect they have on us and our society mean that we should look to them as the primary culprit. Is there a way out of this potato-hell? The way forward is unclear, but perhaps if we can conquor our biological cravings for fatty sustenance, we may yet conquor this terrestrial predator yet.