> The problem is not the sugar per se, but the fact that different people respond to the same consumed items completely differently, something that is very inconvenient for those that want to treat everyone the same way
First, the fact that people react differently does not mean that it is not a public health issue. Some people can drink absurd amounts of alcohol and still be functional afterwards. It’s still not a good idea to drink more than a small dose of alcohol regularly.
Then, there are dangerous and lethal thresholds for all substances, even for seemingly-tolerant people. The fact that most symptoms take decades to develop does not help.
Add the fact that we don’t know why some people are more tolerant and we cannot predict it. Sugar is a problem, at the individual level and even more so because of the burden on society because of public health issues. I am happy to give a gold star to sugar-tolerant people who remain fit and live a long life despite eating tons of the stuff. I am very happy for you. But you are not a proof that sugar is not bad.
> Add the fact that we don’t know why some people are more tolerant and we cannot predict it
Now this is what should be being researched.
The public health problem with that is you might come to a conclusion where it is harder to blame the patient. The “sugar is bad mmmkay” serves a convenient purpose when providing people with something to moralize about.
Indeed. Not only that, but it as well. And believe me, it is being researched.
> The public health problem with that is you might come to a conclusion where it is harder to blame the patient.
How is that a problem? Public health is not about blaming anyone, it’s about improving individuals’ health and diminishing the burden of illnesses on society overall.
> The “sugar is bad mmmkay” serves a convenient purpose when providing people with something to moralize about.
A lot of things are bad. Sugar, like most things, is benign in small quantities but at this point its downsides are quite well documented. It is also quite addictive. There is nothing moral or immoral about this. I don’t really blame people who consume too much of it, but at the society’s level we should do something about it. And other things, we have more than one problem.
First, the fact that people react differently does not mean that it is not a public health issue. Some people can drink absurd amounts of alcohol and still be functional afterwards. It’s still not a good idea to drink more than a small dose of alcohol regularly.
Then, there are dangerous and lethal thresholds for all substances, even for seemingly-tolerant people. The fact that most symptoms take decades to develop does not help.
Add the fact that we don’t know why some people are more tolerant and we cannot predict it. Sugar is a problem, at the individual level and even more so because of the burden on society because of public health issues. I am happy to give a gold star to sugar-tolerant people who remain fit and live a long life despite eating tons of the stuff. I am very happy for you. But you are not a proof that sugar is not bad.