Question by FreeCheese: Why are people so sure of themselves when it comes to nutrition? Why are some people snobs about it?
I hate how when someone asks about dieting, suddenly everyone’s a guru. I mean, its really nice if people give advice or state something in a way that makes it clear that its an opinion, but it drives me bonkers when people act like they know that they’re way is the only way. People have this attitude. “I KNOW that Atkins is unhealthy.” “I KNOW that being vegan is the only way to lose weight.” I KNOW that carbs are bad.” But most often, “There’s no way you’ll be successful using….” Different methods work for different people. People get in these huge diet debates, but the fact is, they’re pointless. As long as everyone has a different body and different brain, there are multiple answers and solutions. The only thing someone should say that they’re confident in, is proven science. Not studies or surveys, not personal experience, but scientific facts. Such as, “If you consumer more calories than you burn, some will be stored as fat.” And, “Carrots contain vitamin C.”
Who agrees?
Added details: I’m not annoyed with anyone for giving out helpful advice, but I hate when people go “You are such an idiot!” or “That popular diet is moronic!”
Best answer:
Answer by Aoife
People should learn to take everything as opinion, and wait until they have found it fact to belive it. There is always going to be “facts” thrown at you that at clearly untrue, but you as a person need to learn how to sort facts from fiction.
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Well, first off, scientific facts typically come from studies, so be careful what you try to exclude.
Anyhow, confidence and snobbishness are typically related, so it’s not uncommon to see this combination on any topic, not just nutrition.
Most diet debates, however, are simply media hype to help sell magazines/papers etc…, so keep that in mind.
As for individuals who debate over diet, I would have to assume that most are basing their opinions on their own anecdotal evidence – giving advice is quite a human thing to do, so you can’t expect people to always say “to each his own” every time. If they did, there wouldn’t be much passion in the world to help drive change.
Anyhow, my advice on diet is simple – avoid processed foods, in particular High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup. Eat a balanced diet of other foods and get good amounts of exercise. If you do that, no matter what your current weight, you should be able to get fit, and stay healthy longer – at least that is what the reports say
I think people just want to share what has helped them or what they learned in their own life. Yes people disagree but for the most part many of them just want to help.
As far as science goes, don’t your realize every persons view point can probably be proved by a study somewhere? There are billions of answers out there.
Why limit it just to nutrition. People can be snobs about a lot of things.
There are no easy answers out there for nutrition. If you look through scientific journals you can also get scared. One recent review in JAMA showed that people who took vitamin E did not live as long as those that didn’t.
Vitamins are needed to prevent humans from getting disease. The RDA is the minimum amount needed to prevent the malnutrition associated diseases. There is nothing definitive that says taking tons of any one thing will make you healthier.
It turns out that there are more studies that state that if you eat less you may live longer.
I read the reviews, I am a physician, and I take a good multivitamin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and Omega 3. I also eat more than I should.
I agree – it can be annoying when someone swears by a certain diet or exercise regime with nothing but anecdotal evidence. But I just had a thought… it all leads to getting scientific results.
If these people weren’t like this – confidently spreading their unproven ideas, we would not have others trying them (and failing) and wouldn’t have the same scientific progress that we do now.
My personal attitude towards this topic of the forum is: the title is Diet & Exercise. End of discussion when it comes to about 90% of what gets asked about weightloss.
Unless someone makes a specific request otherwise, they get all kinds of answers and opinions and that’s usually what they want.
I think you’re correct to a degree. All people are different and people respond differently to different programs. What works well for one person may not apply to another person. For instance, a professional athlete’s diet should differ greatly from an average couch potato.
The problem is, there is a LOT of misinformation out there these days, a lot of nutritionally uneducated people, and a lot of programs more than willing to capitalize on these things in order to separate peoples’ hard-earned money from their pocketbooks. Many of these programs come off as being scientific, and even may have doctors who are proponents, so people are taken in. Ultimately, most of these programs fail because they are impossible to sustain over the long term, are downright unhealthy, or simply do not work. Why do you think people yoyo all the time with “diets”?
There are certain generalities that are proven by time and apply to most people. As you mentioned above,”Taking on fewer calories than expended to lose weight” is something that applies pretty much to everyone, but only if done a certain way. Obviously, starving oneself isn’t the way to go.
If people would actually follow scientifically proven examples and learn what it is they’re doing and why, we’d all be better off. For example, most people don’t know what carbs actually do and the role they play in nutrition, or even what the different types are. They’re just told by some doctor that they’re “bad” and recite back a diatribe they’re given, failing to realize the little or incomplete scientific support for these. Also, science often proves itself wrong – this is part of the scientific process as well. So, as our understanding of things grow and technology becomes available, so should our sophistication grow.
In my mind, it’s all about education. Unfortunately, nutrition education is sorely lacking in our public system and most people graduate knowing very little about it.