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TW: Calories, weight, that general sort of thing
So summer 2019, the government decided to do something about the "obesity crisis". Of course, they didn't do anything useful like increasing the accessibility of sports facilities or anything, no, instead they put out posters describing how the recommended daily allowance of calories should be split out between breakfast, midday meal and evening meal.
And, as usual, if I ate as much as the government recommended, I would gain weight, despite already being nearly 2 stone overweight. Because that's the problem with RDAs, they are so general that they suit almost no-one.
In my case, I am short enough that my maintenance calories are below the RDA, even as heavy as I am. And I am by no means the shortest person in Birmingham (or anywhere else) so I'm not the only person who would become less healthy by following the government's health advice. This is why its so stupid to use calories as a way of giving public health information (and I speak as someone who is big on the "calories in, calories out" principle on account of, you know, science*). Much though I am not a "veggie, veggie yay" person, those campaigns at least made sense. Everyone could do with more veggies. This calorie information, even for people who its not wrong for, is borderline un-actionable, and mostly is going to make people who already struggle with stuff struggle more, whether that stuff be eating disorders or overweight-guilt.
* Exercise might not be able to out-work a terrible diet, but it can definitely function against a mediocre one ;)
So summer 2019, the government decided to do something about the "obesity crisis". Of course, they didn't do anything useful like increasing the accessibility of sports facilities or anything, no, instead they put out posters describing how the recommended daily allowance of calories should be split out between breakfast, midday meal and evening meal.
And, as usual, if I ate as much as the government recommended, I would gain weight, despite already being nearly 2 stone overweight. Because that's the problem with RDAs, they are so general that they suit almost no-one.
In my case, I am short enough that my maintenance calories are below the RDA, even as heavy as I am. And I am by no means the shortest person in Birmingham (or anywhere else) so I'm not the only person who would become less healthy by following the government's health advice. This is why its so stupid to use calories as a way of giving public health information (and I speak as someone who is big on the "calories in, calories out" principle on account of, you know, science*). Much though I am not a "veggie, veggie yay" person, those campaigns at least made sense. Everyone could do with more veggies. This calorie information, even for people who its not wrong for, is borderline un-actionable, and mostly is going to make people who already struggle with stuff struggle more, whether that stuff be eating disorders or overweight-guilt.
* Exercise might not be able to out-work a terrible diet, but it can definitely function against a mediocre one ;)
