Dec
13
Correlations and causes
Filed Under Health
As explained so intelligently in “The Diet delusion”, much advice by Health ‘experts’ treats correlations too glibly.
1st, a correlation does not necessarily mean a causal relationship
2nd, even if there is a causal relationship, this also does not mean that you should treat the symptom directly.
For example, damp in a house will cause fungal growth, but drying out the damp is not enough - you need to find the source of the damp, or the cause will persist.
So it is with the obesity myth. That overeating was falsely seen as causal in the majority of cases, and that undereating should be the treatment. The cause is the balance of the food not the quantity, coupled with a metabolic proneness to that food imbalance. And, sadly, the correlation between obesity and overeating is not that strong anyway. Sad because obese people become stigmatised.
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