The analysis of "Eating Made Simple" article by Marion Nestle Essay

The article "Eating Made Simple" by Marion Nestle provides knowledge, perspective & speculation about nutrition & furthermore, the food industry. I am in agreement with much of the article & could hardly find anything that I found controversial, to me that is. The statement she is making however may cause conflict amongst those involved, nonetheless, she is simply clarifying the reason behind the puzzling idea of nutrition & lack of truth behind what we are mostly told. Nestle explores the conflict faced by nutrition advice as a result of scientific research, government regulations & food companies that leaves the consumer questioning who to trust. Prior to delving into the issue, she begins by reiterating the basic dietary principles that have remained constant through the years-"eat less, move more, avoid junk food." While these ideals may remain true for the general population, Nestle notes that human beings eat a wide variety of food. In addition, each individual's health is affected by their diets differently depending on their genetics & even more, education, income level, job satisfaction, physical fitness & use of cigarettes & alcohol. Scientific research however does not take this into account, it simply cannot. Rather, the data is conducts with a single nutrient detached from the food itself with the food separate from diets & risk factors apart from other behaviors. Thus, whatever research has been collected is what Nestle refers to as "reductive" since it connects the consumption of a nutrients or foods health effects without consideration of the dietary patterns which occur around it. This information is described as being used by the food companies & supermarkets to market the food as a product rather than a nutrient implementing the fundamental aspects of consumerism into the food industry. We are being sold a product, image or a concept from every angle & as human beings we struggle to know what is accurate or not about one of our primary forces representing an organism that perpetuates life...food. The food companies prefer the single studies of an individual nutrient because it allows them to use the result to sell their product, referring to vitamins added to a candy that is then marketed as a "healthy" food. They are then able to use this nutrient to label what we then perceive as health claims which are in reality concealing the truth. This is of great relevance because it comes into play when we discuss obesity, not just in the United States but on a global level. Obesity arises when individuals consume more than they burn via physical activity. The trend in Obesity in America is said to have surfaced during the 1980s when a population that consists of overworked individuals dependent on the idea of convenience when being fed this, providing pre-packaged foods that generally contain more calories that meals cooked at home. At the same time, the "shareholder value movement" was said to take place on wall street to demand an increased level of short term returns on food.