Yes, calorie consumption has fallen

Last year I wrote a report for the IEA ('The Fat Lie') in which I showed that calorie consumption in Britain has been falling for decades as physical activity has been waning. Since obesity has risen sharply at the same time, it seems that energy-out has been a bigger problem than energy-in.
 
Like Timmy, I have been trying to drive this message home for some time. There is ample historical evidence that people consumed more calories in the past, including from sugar, and there is good evidence that physical activity has declined, particularly at home and in the workplace.

It's fair to say that my report did not go down well with 'public health' racketeers and low carb cultists who responded by saying that they simply didn't believe the statistics.

Last week, a new study was published which came to much the same conclusion.

New research from Royal Holloway, University of London has found that changes in lifestyle over the past 30 years have led to a sharp reduction in the strenuousness of daily life, which researchers say may explain why there has been a dramatic rise in obesity.

The study, carried out by Dr Melanie Luhrmann from the Department of Economics along with Professor Rachel Griffith and Dr Rodrigo Lluberas, revealed that while obesity rates have almost trebled, surprisingly, our actual calorie intake has fallen by around 20 per cent compared to 30 years ago.

The researchers found our current lifestyle changes mean in spite of the smaller number of calories we put on weight as our lives have become more sedentary.

The 'public health' lobby did not need to bother trying to rubbish this study because it received hardly any media coverage. Tellingly, it was conducted by economists rather than 'public health' cranks.

I know the researchers are correct because I've seen the data before, but I can't find the actual study. If you can, let me know.

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