
What the world eats (2014) - oxplot
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/what-the-world-eats/
======
DarkTree
I really wish they would have separated sugar and fat into different slices.
Grouping them makes them seem equally unhealthy and perpetuates the falsehood
that fats are inherently bad. A culture can have a high fat intake, with a low
sugar intake and still be healthy. You can't really say the same for the
opposite.

~~~
npalli
You can click/tap on the sugar and fat pie slice to separate out sugar vs fat.

~~~
jacobolus
Seems like “fat” in this context just means “vegetable oil”, and animal fat
goes into the dairy & eggs category.

Weird grouping.

------
pcl
I'm surprised that China eats more meat per capita (17%) than most of the rest
of the world.

Hong Kong is at the top (29%), followed by Argentina (19%), Vietnam (18%), and
then China and Australia, both at 17%.

China's lead even holds up in absolute Calorie terms -- 509 Calories vs 469 in
the US. However, interestingly, the Chinese eat less mass of meat per capita
than the US. I wonder if that's due to eating more energy-rich parts of
animals or if their animals are bred to have more energy-rich meat.

~~~
theunixbeard
Fat == 9 calories per gram

Protein == 4 calories per gram

So if a culture's fat : protein ratio is higher, then for a given weight of
meat there will be more calories consumed. Anecdotally, in China it seems
meat-dishes tend to be much fattier than in the US.

For example:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=hong+shao+rou&tbm=isch](https://www.google.com/search?q=hong+shao+rou&tbm=isch)

That's pork belly ; AKA the thickest bacon cut imaginable and naturally very
fatty (also delicious).

\-----

Source: I lived in Shenzhen, China for 4 months.

~~~
sliverstorm
_in China it seems meat-dishes tend to be much fattier_

Seems to be a preference thing. At least according to one immigrant Vietnamese
family I was close with growing up, muscle is rather bland and boring in
texture. They strongly preferred the fat & connective tissue for their flavor
& texture respectively, and dishes were always very oily.

As far as I know, Western diets used to be fattier, but out of concern for the
diseases of civilization animal fats have been reduced.

------
argo12
North Korea, Vietnam and India are the ones with over 50% grain consumption
(63%, 57%, 57%). Grains here would mean both carbs and protein (pulses). It
would be interesting to see the same chart with a carbs and protein split.

~~~
pcl
_protein (pulses)_

That's a new term for me -- Wikipedia says it's another name for the English
definition of _legume_ :
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_(legume)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_\(legume\))

------
bpicolo
Do these calorie numbers not seem high? The US eats 3600 calories per person
per day (2800 in 1961?), and the vast majority of countries are running well
over 2000/3000?

~~~
tzs
Yeah, they seen high to me. According to typical online weight calculators, a
30 years old, 6 foot high, moderately active male on a long term 3600
calorie/day diet should weigh around 290 pounds. If lightly active, make that
360 pounds. Only an extremely active person should be able to eat that much
without being seriously overweight--they would be around 180 pounds.

------
amelius
Nothing changes really that much between 1950 and now, on the world scale.

It would be nice if this would go back further in time, so we could see, for
instance, the paleolithic-diet.

------
hackaflocka
According to the chart, nobody eats Animal Fats. I think the paleo community
might disagree.

------
RachelF
Great infographics.

------
percept
The Land of Sugar & Fat.

