On gluttony

This author thinks gluttony good! Gobble up: gluttony is the gift of civilisation

Gluttony is a gift of evolution. In the struggle for survival with other animals, human beings have always had two severe disadvantages: feeble bodies and simple digestions. These restrict our cycle of energy production by limiting the range of food sources we can absorb. Big meals are a form of natural compensation, stoking our energy generators with ample fuel. That is why we evolved ways of exciting appetite: ours is the only species which dresses food to make it more appealing to the palate. Our bodies, moreover, are designed to make the most of our excesses by storing the benefits as fat. On average, the body of a normal, healthy person in the developed world contains relatively more fat tissue than that of a penguin or a polar bear. Whereas most animals concentrate their stores of body fat in one or two parts of the body, we have multiple deposits, spread generously all around our frames. Human beings are designed by Nature to be overeating animals.

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Now, moralists, dietitians, fashion advertisers and lifestyle journalists try to nag us into frugality. I doubt whether even so formidable a combination of forces can reverse evolution and history. Gluttony has a powerful pedigree. Excess at table is hallowed by antiquity. So eat on. Face those leftovers without discouragement: you may feel bloated on Boxing Day, but your struggle with your waistband is part of an historic contest. This is the season, moreover, when supplies are abundant to sustain it and parties come to the aid of all good men.

This ode to gluttony rings with some truth. The author speaks to the evolutionary advantage of storing body fat. But we no longer live in circumstances when the next meals are questionable.

The occasional gluttonous feast is not the problem. I am not such a prude to discourage the occaional feast. The problem stems from a chronic lack of moderation in eating. So eat your feast at appropriate social circumstance, then decrease consumption and increase exercise the next few days to prevent the accompanying weight gain. Gluttony may sound good, but diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and coronary artery disease (not to mention osteoarthritis) greatly impair ones quality of life!