I saw this going viral 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Paid Scientists to Point Blame at Fat.
Every few years this story resurfaces. It’s popular narrative, and maybe there is some truth to it in that ‘big sugar’ sought lay the blame at the feet of fat. But this does not mean that sugar to blame or that fat is the solution.
Sugar is often blamed for rising rates of diabetes and obesity in America, but the data is at best inconclusive. Sugar consumption has declined relative to fat consumption, as obesity rates have surged:
Same for rising rates of diabetes in spite of decreased sugar consumption:
In explaining the rise of diabetes, there are many confounders such as people living longer, demographic change, and earlier and increased diagnosis due to the rise of preventive care.
Zooming out, the macro consumption has not changed much in over half as century, but with a small bump starting in the early 2000s of fat consumption in lieu of carbs:
This also counters a common narrative that high protein is the key to being slimmer. Americans were much less obese 50 years ago despite protein consumption being unchanged.
Per capita calorie consumption has surged over the last 50 years, which tracks almost perfectly with rising obesity rates:
Perhaps the problem is as strait-forward as people consuming too many calories overall, regardless of the macro composition. Getting every obese American on a 2-2,500 kcal/day diet would probably cure 90% or more of obesity, although this is asking for too much given the low success rates of dieting.
It would also require that restaurants serve much smaller portions, maybe with less fat and more emphasis on carbs or protein. Healthcare in America is great at diagnosing people, and less effective at curing it. Lifestyle intervention is too time-consuming or an imposition, hence the appeal of drugs to mask or circumvent the problem.