The psychology of the stop loss
"Hope is a mistake."
– Mad Max, post-apocalyptic Aussie philosopher
In the US alone, the weight-loss industry is worth 64 billion dollars. Yet, obesity rates have increased by 30% from the year 1999 to 2016. The weight-loss industry is a commercial success, but a practical failure, simply because it tries to solve the wrong problem. This has a lot to teach us about stop-loss psychology.
The cause of our collective obesity is not the food we ingest. It's how we relate to food. If instead of "eat your hamburger, it will make you strong", your parents told you, "supersize those carcinogenic genetically modified proteins, pumped full of antibiotics, they will triple your risk of cardiovascular health problems," then you might feel a little less inclined to partake in the consumption of the flesh of the holy cow.
The following Scientific American report discusses the health...
