alt Hacker NewsThe FDA claims a sedentary 40 year old man needs 2400 calories a day, the same as a 17 year old incidentally. [1] Or that everybody just needs 50g of protein a day. [2] Then there's the fat vs sugar food pyramid nonsense that led to more than half a century of health degradation.
[1] - https://www.fda.gov/media/112972/download
[2] - https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-n...
Replies
eisen_matrix • 06/04/2025
2400 calories is very rational number, considering that Americans eat around 3800 on average.
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J_Shelby_J • 06/04/2025
Hey man, we really need eight potatoes a day, ok.
That 2400 number?
It is an average. A guideline. And most countries give an average or range. And the US isn't the highest here: The official recommended averages I found after moving to Norway were higher than in the US and much more reasonable to keep to. (I'm female, my averages are lower).
That doesn't mean that the food pyramid is a good thing or that we've been giving good health advice. It also doesn't mean that our health advice is all that good now. We know more than we did before, but nutrition science seems tricky to do and even trickier to communicate well with the general public in ways that most people can follow. And that's before the disinformation from business interests and dealing with outright scams and lies.