The unfortunate normalisation of sugary and industrial foods spreading rapidly across the world is causing this. Crap food is relativelly cheaper, widely avaliable and easier to consume, doesn't require much preparation so people tend to make these food choices, which causes, among other things, problems like diabetes in first world countries and now in developing countries especially in Asia and South America where this modern lifestyle is being implemented at a very fast rate. Add to this the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that people have, especially in cities, and you will see obesity and diabetes.
Cities are actually less sedentary. Cities have walkable destinations and public transit (which requires walking to). Living in the suburbs or rural areas, you rely on a car for every trip.
I've lived in big cities, suburbs, and a rural area. You see so many more people walking and biking in the cities.
All of the food contains added sugar. All of the food that’s easiest to get (y’know, since nobody has time from being worked to death) is cheapest. The problem is much much deeper than ‘lol fat’.
I don't think I agree with this "nobody has time" thing. Most people don't get that excuse, you can usually make time, most people just choose not to. Do you make time to shower and brush your teeth?
I understand that there are food deserts and some people legitimately work multiple jobs and have kids and that fast food or microwavable dinners and generally unhealthy foods are quick and convenient and affordable but cooking your food doesn't take that much time and not drinking soda frequently takes no time.
Also it's not like veggies and lean meats like chicken are expensive for most people in the US. You can genuinely fill up your basket with lots of leafy greens, veggies, mushrooms and some animal protein for significantly cheaper than with junk food and microwavable dinners, hot pockets, deli meats and cheeses and bread. Unless you live in Alaska maybe.
Not being dismissive of peoples' struggles, a ton of us are being overworked for less money than we're worth, but if you need to you'll make time, you figure it out. Yeah there's sugar in everything processed, cool, you have affordable options that admittedly take a bit of effort to prepare and don't taste as good, but we can eat those and we can eat less. Overeating, constant junk snacking and portion size is also a huge issue in our culture.
Dietary fiber. No seriously. 95% of Americans don’t get enough, which leads to an unhealthy guy, which leads to inflammation and gut-brain axis disturbance.
Processed food is processed to remove fiber. Americans that eat a higher percentage of fast/processed food (ie. The poorer ones) get less fiber and more sugar, which is a bad combo for gut health.
Ever seen what other apes eat? Leaves, flowers, seeds, shoots, roots, insects, fruit and occasionally meat. In other words, they eat fiber and lots of it.
Not the same misconception, though it's a poor choice of wording.
Type II diabetes cases are actually increasing around the world, due to factors another comment summarizes very well, but it's not obviously "spreading" like a contagious disease.
It's not an issue of doctors starting to diagnose something that always existed but went undiagnosed due to ignorance/bias like the case with autistic women.
It really isn't unless you maybe live exclusively on the $1, $2, $3 menu from mcdonalds.
Veggies, at least in most of the US, are pretty cheap as is lean protein. But it doesn't taste as good as Chex Mix and a McDouble and they have to take the time and effort to cool/prepare it, so people use that excuse.
What do you mean by "not genetically ready for it"? People in third world countries don't have significantly different genetics to those in first world countries, and people in first world countries haven't evolved since the introduction of McDonald's
Is this due to factors beyond the control of people? ie. genes?
Gene predispositions likely haven't increased, though perhaps the proportion of people having children with gene predisopositions have.
Ultimately, it's due to people with lifestyles that our bodies are not designed for and not moving/exercising enough, with a small amount due to family history/genetic reasons.
I’m pretty sure it’s primarily changing diets that include way more carbohydrates, combined with lifestyle changes like increasing use of automobiles. I have Type 1 (the far less common autoimmune version, which is really about the opposite of type 2 with some overlapping effects) and the amount of carbs in typical American meals blows me away. Type 2 is essentially insulin tolerance (called resistance), like one gets to psychoactive drugs with repeated intake. People eat such an insane amount of carbs (not just sugar, but rice, potatoes, wheat, corn, tapioca) that their bodies have to release a flood of insulin to try to maintain glucose levels… and after a while it just stops working as well. The thing is Type 2 can be managed pretty well simply with low carb or keto diets but most people aren’t willing to make that change to their food intake.
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