Question

Based on scientific evidence, to what extent are people genetically programmed to crave sugar, fat, and salt or acquire a taste for them as a result of the American culture and/or the Standard American Diet (SAD)?

Answer 1

Scientific studies suggest that people are genetically programmed to crave sugar, fat, and salt or acquire a taste for them due to evolutionary explanations. In our past, genes which lead individuals to extract every calorie from scarce food and store it efficiently for later use were favoured. Fat has twice the calories per gram of protein and carbohydrates. It also weighs less than muscle, and is easier to carry around. Therefore our ancestors sought out sugar when they could as it is easily digestible and rapidly converted to fat. Back then, sugar was only found in fruits and in occasional beehives, and so it was a rare commodity. Today, however, sugar is all around us and are biological drives are motivating us to consume it excessively.