Why do humans have a preference to over eat or over indulge and not just be satisfied with what is needed to sustain their life and health?
In: Biology
Our bodies have systems in place to ensure that when we encounter fat or sugar we eat as much as is available. That’s because we evolved in situations where fat and sugar were scarce and hard to get. Even after the Agricultural Revolution and the through much of the Industrial Revolution, fat and sugar were still ‘a treat’. Then our civilization got really good at farming for fat and sugar. It’s cheap and available everywhere – look at your local 7-11 convenience store – it’s like a temple to fat and sugar. But your body is still adapted for scarcity. Physical evolution is a lot slower than cultural, social or technological evolution.
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