Food warms the soul, but how much is too much?

In Western society, inadequate voluntary dietary satiety control, also indicated as satiety suppression during holiday and festive celebratory events, combined with ongoing poor daily dietary choices and continued caloric imbalance may contribute to a premature onset of the pathophysiologic changes often associated with aging and obesity, including metabolic syndrome. These nutritional factors are likely contributors to the growing trend of an increased prevalence of obesity and its pathophysiologic sequelae and culminating in decreased potential for attaining our optimal longevity. In some relatively remote cultures, however, where local populations consume predominately local foods high in nutritional content, in line with their actual caloric and nutritional requirements for a healthy lifestyle, many often survive to or beyond their 100th birthday and thus represent some of the greatest examples of longevity on the planet. The metabolic and pathophysiologic benefits of voluntary appetite control and satiety suppression in concert with a healthy lifestyle likely result in a greater individual potential to attain the optimal longevity conferred by our ancestral rights and origins.