Diets Do NOT Work

Part III: Sleep, Stress, Viruses, Bacteria, Toxins, and Socioeconomic Status

The food industry and government designed a system in which highly nutritious food is expensive.

Trigger warning: This post includes content related to weight and describes certain behaviors, conditions, environments, and foods that can lead to weight gain, which you may find triggering if you are suffering from an eating disorder. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, please reach out to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helpline: (800) 931-2237.

Although the diet and exercise industries inundate us with messages that we can control our weights, researchers know of no long-term healthy method in which we can control our weights. In addition to the hormones, enzymes, and chemicals that work to maintain your body’s set point (see my first post in this series, Diets Do NOT Work – Part I: Biology) and our brains’ response to food deprivation or perceived deprivation (see Diets Do NOT Work – Part II: Deprived Brains), sleep patterns; stress levels; exposure to certain viruses, bacteria, and environmental toxins; and food politics and socioeconomic status all affect our weights and are largely out of our personal control.

Sleep and Rest

Many studies show a correlation between loss of sleep and weight gain. This makes sense because the body produces less leptin (hunger reducer) and more ghrelin (hunger intensifier) in response to lack of sleep. (Heath at Every Size, pg. 56).

The obvious solution may sound like “sleep more to lose weight,” but this is not an option for many people. Consider a single mom with a full-time job who needs to work to pay the bills, help her children with homework, cook dinner, and do all the household chores. Although sleep is important for good health outcomes, some people are unable to sleep more. Likewise, many people suffer from sleep disorders.

Personally, even though I truly value sleep and understand its connection with my health and wellbeing, I do not get nearly as much sleep as I would like. I am a momma to a puppy with severe anxiety. She barks all night long, even on medications.

People with eating disorders often feel like we are they not enough and like we need to do more to become worthy. We have the drive to produce and do not believe we deserve to sleep and rest. This is not healthy. We are all inherently enough. We all deserve to rest.

Stress

Dieting is in itself stressful for bodies. Further, people who are dieting are often doing so to find relief from fatphobia and weight stigma, which are also major stressors. Stress activates the stress hormone, cortisol, which stimulates appetite and stores fat. Thus, by shaming people in larger bodies, diet culture is encouraging weight gain, not contributing to sustainable weight loss.

Viruses, Bacteria, and the Environment 

Even viruses, bacteria, and toxins contribute to weight!

Adenovirus-36 (among other viruses) is associated with higher weights in people. Introducing this virus to animals in studies resulted in weight gain without changes in eating habits. (Heath at Every Size, pg. 57). It changes cells into fat cells and causes more fat storage, too.

High-octane bacteria, such as Firmicutes, are able to extract more calories from food than the other main gut bacteria, Bacteroidetes. People in larger bodies have a higher ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes in their guts. Dieting causes this ratio to increase! (Heath at Every Size, pg. 58)

Environmental pollution may also play a role in weight gain. For example, TBT (found in marine paints, fungi-killing chemicals, PVC plastics, and wood preservers) disrupts hormonal functions and correlates with weight gain. This environmental toxin gets stored in fat tissue. (Dieting releases these toxins from their storage in fat cells into the bloodstream leading to poorer health outcomes.) (Heath at Every Size, pg. 58-59).

Food Politics, Socioeconomic Status, and Access to Nutrients

TW: This section includes information about certain foods that may correlate with weight gain. Do not read the rest of this post if you might find it triggering.

Although our bodies largely decide when and how much we eat, there are external influences on what we eat. The food industry and the United States government have designed, and continue to reinforce, a system in which highly nutritious foods are very expensive, while processed foods and animal-based foods (including dairy and eggs) are relatively inexpensive. Both types of food are in a healthy, balanced diet. However, the inaccessibility of the nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, and whole grains, may lead to higher weights in poorer communities.

The Food Industry

The food industry is providing us with foods that do not activate our satiety cues and which may increase our set point range.  Linda Bacon explains, “Many foods common on today’s menu don’t activate our weight control system as readily as the foods we used to eat, leaving us hungry despite getting sufficient…calories” (Heath at Every Size, pg. 68). This is generally causing people in our culture to consume more calories than we used to. People in larger bodies are not necessarily eating more food than people in smaller bodies; their genes just allow their bodies to store fat more efficiently.

Further, the law requires that the for-profit companies that make up the food industry increase shareholder profits, not consumer health. Thus, food companies do everything that they can to sell their products. Bacon explains, “Today nearly every processed food manufacturer engages in activities designed to reshape your taste buds, cravings, eating habits, and attitudes toward food” (Heath at Every Size, pg. 102). For example, they are offering larger portions for the same price to encourage people who want more for their money to buy their product. These larger portions understandably lead people to eat more food. The food industry also advertises less nutritious foods far more than highly nutritious foods. They even convince consumers that their foods are more nutritious by donating money to health-related organizations so they can advertise their association with those health organizations. They even fund research to support and favor the foods they are producing. Bacon continues, “Even more disturbing, this corporate manipulation of our palates and food attitudes is being conducted with active government support…through farm subsidies and other economic policies” (Heath at Every Size, pg. 102).

Government Complicity

The government pays agricultural subsidies for some foods, such as corn and soybeans. Thus, although corn and soybeans are very cheap, farmers are still making a profit by growing these crops. Due to the high production and low costs of corn and soybeans, they have become a primary source of feed for livestock, benefiting the meat and dairy industries, as well. Thus, the subsidies, offer increased access to corn- and soy-based products, meat, and dairy products compared to other foods.  It is important to note that the government does not offer these high subsidies for most fruits, vegetables, or nuts, making them much more expensive.

Corn and soybeans are not just being produced to create inexpensive livestock feed, corn-on-the-cob, and edamame. Manufacturers use corn to make corn oil and high fructose corn syrup, which is now added to most processed foods, and they process soybeans into hydrogenated soybean oil. Neither high fructose corn syrup nor hydrogenated soybean oil activates our bodies’ fullness response as strongly as some other foods do. Thus, processed foods are more accessible to poorer people than fresh produce, which may help explain the correlation between higher weights and lower socioeconomic status. These foods are not bad foods, and they are part of a balanced diet. However, nutrient-dense foods must go with them for the best health outcomes.

Farmers are producing a surplus of these subsidized foods, and the government purchases these cheap, surplus foods for food assistance programs for children in low-income families. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses these foods in school lunch and breakfast programs. Thus, the subsidies even cause nutrition assistance programs to offer children less access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and other highly nutritious foods. Thus, through subsidies, the government promotes cheaper access to foods that may promote weight gain and poorer health outcomes.

It is no wonder that the government is complicit in reducing access to nutrient-dense foods. The dairy industry, meat industry, corn farmers, and soybean farmers lobby the federal government. And, these industry leaders are often appointed to positions within the USDA. The USDA’s mission is inherently flawed and conflicting. It is responsible for nutrition education and agribusiness success, encouraging it to inflate the health benefits of certain foods to promote business: “We provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management.”

Thus, as a society, we must 1) stop blaming and stigmatizing people in larger bodies for their size, 2) insist that food companies support higher ethical standards, and 3) demand that government provides more access to nutritious food options to people with lower socioeconomic status.

It is not your fault that you “failed” at your diet. Your weight is out of your control.

Diets Do NOT Work