Is Fat Killing You, or Is Sugar?

Science is an accretion of provisional certainties. Current research includes much that is genuinely promising—several groups have identified genes that predispose some people to obesity, and are studying how targeted diets and exercise can attenuate these effects—but the more one pays attention to the latest news from the labs the harder it becomes to separate signal from noise. Amid the constant back-and-forth of various hypotheses, orthodoxies, and fads, it’s more important to pay attention to the gradual advances, such as our understanding of calories and vitamins or the consensus among studies showing that trans fats exacerbate cardiovascular disease. What this means for most of us is that common sense should prevail. Eat and exercise in moderation; maintain a diet consisting of balanced amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrates; make sure you get plenty of fruit and vegetables. And enjoy an occasional slice of chocolate cake. 
科學的確定性是臨時的。 目前的研究很多都是真正有希望的 - 幾個群體已經確定了一些使一些人患有肥胖症的基因，並且正在研究如何利用針對性的飲食和運動來減輕這些影響 - 但是，當人們更關注實驗室的最新消息時，要能分辨出哪些是信號與那些是噪聲卻越加困難。 在各種假說、正統觀念和時尚的說法不時地反反覆覆之際，更重要的是要注意那些逐漸的進步，例如我們對卡路里和維生素的理解，或研究顯示反式脂肪會加劇心血管疾病的共識。 對我們大多數人來說，這意味著該多善用常識。 適當的飲食和運動; 食品保持平衡的蛋白質，脂肪和碳水化合物; 確保你多吃水果和蔬菜。 偶爾享受巧克力蛋糕也沒關係。

The New Yorker

Diet books peddle the myth that if you just fix one thing, your whole life will be better. The actual science tells a different story.

Is Fat Killing You, or Is Sugar?

What we do and don’t know about dietary science.

NEWYORKER.COM