Why Animals Don’t Get Fat

In this article I will be focusing on why humans are the only species on the planet that suffer from obesity (unless the animal is looked after by a human). We have years of science and more fitness and weight loss classes than ever before but year on year obesity increases.

Let’s begin by looking at exercise – the governments’ recommendation is half an hour per day and this can include a walk to the bus stop or taking the stairs instead of the lift. This doesn’t even have to be half an hour of continuous exercise. If we sat down and worked it out I truly believe that most people would easily be achieving their half an hour a day.

So compare this to an animal – I have chosen to look at lions but I could have picked any animal. My reason for picking the lion is because of it’s natural beauty, outstanding power and speed. Lions do not suffer from obesity so how much exercise do they do? A male lion actually does very little as the female lion is expected to do all the hunting. The male lion would protect his family and fight off any other animals. Female lions hunt usually once every other day and a hunt could last ten minutes or an hour. So this would equate to a maximum of half an hour a day. Therefore a lion would only exercise as often as or less often than a human. We could argue that their exercise is more than walking to the bus stop but we have gyms, fitness classes, boot camps etc. An average human would exercise far more than a lion but yet we are far less fit.

Lion diet – Here is where we start to discover the big difference. A lion can and will only eat fresh meats that have just been killed. Lions eat their meal in one sitting as opposed to “little and often”. A lion has no choice but to eat only what is available to them meaning natural and in season foods.

Human diet - The official nutrition plate shows 50% carbohydrate. Our body can only store 30g of glucose at one time. One bowl of porridge could easily be your 30g of glucose. Even if we take into account that you are going to the gym or doing some form of exercise you still wouldn’t only use glucose. What’s more if our glucose stores are running low we can convert fat into glucose to use as a fuel. We are all aware that we should be avoiding products that are not natural but I think we need to start to question what is natural. Eggs, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables are all very natural and available in the wild. Rice (even wholemeal), pasta, porridge, cereal and all junk foods are not available to lions or any other animal.

My conclusion is that the way we eat is what’s causing obesity. Carbohydrates are part of our diet and the way we are designed to eat, but not in the quantity or the quality that we are having them. The only way to solve obesity for life is to make a change for life and this will mean taking in carbohydrate from the most natural sources such as fruit and vegetables. Fats and protein should therefore be 60% of our diet, dairy 20% and carbohydrate 20%.

1. Prev:Flat Belly Diet
2. Next:Weight Reduction