Nutritionists David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson on the virtues of a ‘balanced’ diet

“Eating pasta helps you lose weight.” “Eating more animal protein increases risk of death.” “The foods helping you shred stomach fat.” “How to eat carbs without gaining weight.”

These are all real headlines.

Is it any wonder that people are confused about what they should and shouldn’t eat?

We are too obsessed with identifying … a specific nutrient that causes a particular health problem

Daily we hear of another nutritional dietary “breakthrough”. But as a cursory look at Australia’s obesity statistics attests (two in three Australians are obese or overweight), our health and wellbeing are reaping no benefit.

What’s worse, fats or carbs?

So what’s gone wrong? Why are clear, useful and effective messages about nutrition so difficult to find?

The answer is that we have taken a wrong turn in the way that we think about nutrition. We are too obsessed with identifying an individual culprit — a specific nutrient that causes a particular health problem.

Take for example the argument whether fats or carbs causes obesity. It began over half a century ago, and yet the debate remains unresolved.

Some experts argue that fats are to blame, others that carbs (especially sugar) are almost solely to blame, and to further complicate things, yet others suggest too much protein or too little fibre as the cause.

Nutrients interact with each other

None of these viewpoints is entirely incorrect, but in reality, obesity is not caused by a single nutrient.

Rather, like a high-functioning sports team, particular nutrients interact in networks of other nutrients to influence energy intake and fat storage.

To solve the problem we need to reconsider the question we ask. Rather than “which nutrient causes obesity?”, we should ask “which combinations of nutrients are associated with obesity?”

It can also help individuals to manage their diet, by changing the goal from eating diets “high in this nutrient” or “low in that”, to eating a diet that is balanced in nutrients.

In the meantime, one message is clear. Rather than focus on which nutrient to leave out of the diet, we need to reduce our consumption of high energy, nutrient-poor snack and junk foods and beverages. By any definition, these spell trouble for healthy eating.