It might also suggest that there is a genetic component to diabetes. Even so, diabetes was rare back then as was obesity. That's because people worked like hell and didn't have access to the amount of food they have today.
Can this be due to the huge amounts of carbohydrate based foodstuffs the average person consumes?
Sure. And the huge amounts of fat based foodstuffs the average person consumes. We also consume a lot more protein per capita than we did several generations ago. The conventional wisdom is that the total number of calories is what is important while the macronutrient ratio is not terribly important provided it does not lead to malnutrition.
Go to the store and notice that sugar is added to almost everything processed, as is corn starch or wheat. Even diet TV dinners are loaded with carbohydrates, which are used as a substitute for the lack of fat. Low fat is the rage these days.
Low fat may be the rage these days but that's mostly because people have been told that a particular macronutrient is the problem rather than the total calories consumed being the problem.
I hear it often that sugar (carb) consumption is the problem. The numbers don't bear that out. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1970 sugar's share of total calories consumed was 18.6%. In 2005, that had declined to just 17%. In comparison, per capita consumption of total fats in 1970 was 145 grams. That amount increased dramatically to 190 grams in 2005. Saturated fat intake has gone from 50 grams to 59 grams per person per day over the same time period.
So, I think there are a lot of misperceptions out there, many of which come from people who have no idea what they're talking about along with others who are pushing an agenda.
Carbohydrates are proven to cause the body to secrete insulin.
Well, of course they do. Insulin facilitates the metabolization of carbohydrates. Caffeine also stimulates the secretion of insulin. Can you show a correlation between caffeine consumption and obesity?
The modern diet is way heavier in carbohydrate than is healthy
The stats from the Dept. of Agriculture seem to disagree with you. I would say, instead, that the modern diet is far too energy dense to be healthy, and in the case where very high levels of sugars are being ingested, other foods are lacking or absent so the diet becomes very unbalanced so the body can now be lacking in vitamins, essential fatty acids, essential amino acids and essential minerals including trace minerals.
Trying to pin the problem on sugars rather than obesity and the diet and lack of exercise that leads to obesity, is quite the stretch given what we can learn from my grandfather's generation. Unfortunately, all of these facts won't stop the various charlatans from hawking their diet fads that ignore this very real (and simple) issue.
It’s interesting that in the 1998 textbook, The Handbook of Obesity, by Bray, Bouchard and James, it’s stated that “the reduction of energy intake continues to be the basis of successful weight reduction programs”, but later in the book there is this confession: “the results of such energy restricted diets are known to be poor and not long-lasting”. These 3 authors are known to be authorities in the field.
Why is it energy reduction, or calorie restriction, is such a cornerstone of treatment with a high rate of failure?
A 2nd textbook, “Joslin’s Diabetes Mellitus”, 2005 edition, contains a chapter on obesity by researcher Jeffrey Flier, who promotes calorie restriction as the preferred solution to obesity and then turns around and lists numerous ways calorie restricted therapy ultimately fails!
Let’s say you go on a 600 calorie diet. You lose a lot of weight. When you hit goal, what then?
I agree that there is a genetic component to why some folks are thin and some folks struggle with their weight. There are folks who cannot gain weight no matter how much they eat just as there are people who gain and gain until they are morbidly obese. However, you and I disagree on the cause of those heavy people’s body composition. Those people can and do lose weight when they restrict (THEY DO NOT ELIMINATE) their intake of dietary carbohydrate. As their insulin levels decrease, their fat stores are used as energy and over time they naturally reduce their calorie intake.