"I am skinny and therefore healthy. You are fat and therefore a lazy overeater," says the thin, but poorly informed man in the hat.
Social psychologists use fundamental attribution error to describe how people attribute success or failure differently to themselves than to others. For example, “I stopped to help the old lady change her tire because I am a good person. That other person drove by because he is a bad person.” Meanwhile, the person who drove by thinks: “I am not stopping because I am late. My situation prevents me from helping.” This idea applies in many ways, and we’ll take a look at its use in health.
“I am thin because I make good food choices and exercise. My friend must be overweight because she makes poor choices.” Thin people as a group are notorious for this mistake, and it is not only wrong, but it leads to a poor understanding and over-simplification of weight regulation.
The first problem is that the thin person assumes she is healthy, which reaffirms her choices. In fact, she might not be healthy or be making good choices. About 20% of type two diabetics will be thin. An exercise addict running fifty miles per week will also be thin, but neither is person is likely to be in optimal healthy. In fact, their diets could be leading them down a dangerous path.
The second problem is that society assumes an overweight person makes poor choices. In reality, it could be a problem of food insecurity, or of following low-fat advice, which I believe has lead many people to obesity and diabetes. Even following the beloved USDA Food Pyramid (and its heavy reliance on grains) will cause overweight in some.
When we apply fundamental attribution error we are left with little reason to appropriately investigate the problem. After all, why research weight regulation thoroughly when we know overweight people simply need to eat less and exercise more? We have been collectively asking ourselves that question for a while now and it has gotten us nowhere (except maybe more diabetic). Instead it is time to drop the preconception and focus on physiology. Biologists know an incredible amount about the human body and anthropologists can teach us about human evolution. It is time for the discipline of nutrition to return to its scientific roots. We must collectively drop this mindset, at least with regards to weight, so we can get on to properly researching and understanding obesity.
There is also a correlation between your blood type and how one chooses their
diet.this is well laid out in the book called eating right for your type by
Dr.Peter J. D’ Amado.
Thanks for commenting Robert, but I have to disagree. The blood type diet has very little scientific evidence and has been thoroughly reputed by many reputable sources. I suggest people look elsewhere!