Obesity and Mexico

[bk_]

I’d like to understand better from a Peat perspective from those of you that know Mexico better than I about the obesity epidemic there. Obesity in Mexico - Wikipedia

Ray Peat lived in Mexico in the 60s and had pointed out the positives of their traditional diet over Americans which include eating the whole animal (organs and all).

However I see majority of Mexicans in Mexico appear to be severely obese or overweight including too many young pre-school children which is very sad. It appears they are worse than Americans now.

I notice a bloated appearance with puffy faces, high neck fat, hunched necks, tired appearances, short statures, and droopy eye lids; all indications of severe hypothyroidism.

Is there clinical evidence of severe hypothyroidism in Mexico? What could be causing this? Mexicans used to be slender but now even the children are obese, is this Lamarckian adaptation to energy storage due to past generations of malnutrition or some chemical or diet change that we can point to?

For reference about the hypothyroid appearance here is a picture of the same girl with hypothyroidism (left) and successful treatment (right):

 

[Perry Staltic]

High fructose corn syrup is my guess. It's in everything there. Like the US, but worse, I think.

 

[gaze]

the introduction of wheat tortillas, mass produced corn tortillas that have not been nixtamalized, beans, lots of meats, lots of soda, and vegetable oils.

 

[Perry Staltic]

I think it's due to a combination of things: higher calorie diets, trans fats, HFCS, virtually no excercise, etc. We had PE every day when I was growing up, and I rode my bicycle or walked everywhere almost every day until I was 23, and I was skinny as a rail. Now I frequently pass cars with moms parked at the end of long rural driveways waiting for the school bus to drop off little fatty fats like below so they don't have to walk 200 ft to the house.

 

[RohnJose]

they eat tons of fried food and vegetable oil. they are not any further away from PUFA than any of us. endless amounts of fried tortilla chips with their guac/pico/etc. was just there last week and noticed this as well. massive obesity percentage just from my observation.

 

[ALS]

I lived there for a year, saw one cooking beans, she put a load of liquid vegetable oil in.

I think they used to use lard, maybe the oil is cheaper.

Some deep fried things they eat are cooked in the same type of oil. Don't know what the rest might be.

Generally, you don't see obesity with the native Indian tribes in Mexico, or in Guatemala either. They tend to grow their own food and live
in rural areas. Don't know what the difference in diet is.

 

[RohnJose]

I lived there for a year, saw one cooking beans, she put a load of liquid vegetable oil in.

I think they used to use lard, maybe the oil is cheaper.

Some deep fried things they eat are cooked in the same type of oil. Don't know what the rest might be.

Generally, you don't see obesity with the native Indian tribes in Mexico, or in Guatemala either. They tend to grow their own food and live
in rural areas. Don't know what the difference in diet is.

yeah. i would say youre right on with the liquid oils, and their use now because of how cheap they are.