# Almost every single obese person I've ever know "hates vegetables". Genetic link? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928 "2011-06-10T01:25:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/21 "2011-06-10T13:04:42Z")
I buy more into the supertaster idea. I am a supertaster, and I can’t stand most vegetables. People are always trying to get me to eat them, and they want to know why I don’t like them. I don’t like them because they taste like #$%^. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/22 "2011-06-10T13:12:45Z")
I’m a 300 lb guy, and I dig me some veggies too… even to the point where my wife and I grow our own. Planning on making okra & tomatoes this weekend, and we’ve probably already eaten a couple pounds worth of green beans from our garden in the last week, as well as an obnoxious number of radishes. I really dig me some asparagus and broccoli too. I even really like brussels sprouts. Not a fan of beets or endive though. That being said, I like bacon, cheese, fries, ice cream, etc… as well. Like others have said, it’s calories in vs. calories out that determines your weight. I think the misconception here is that somehow not eating veggies makes you fat… which isn’t the case. The real advantage to eating veggies if you’re fat and trying to lose weight is that they’re relatively bulky for the same number of calories compared to meat, cheese and grease. Think about how much squash you’d have to eat to get 250 calories worth (14 oz)… then think of how much steak that would be (3.5 oz). If you don’t eat veggies, you have to eat that much more food volume to feel full of relatively high calorie food. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/23 "2011-06-10T14:12:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I also question the premise. If anything, obese people seem to be less picky eaters. Since the premise is false, this thread serves nearly no purpose. Anyway, I see zero evidence for a genetic link of obese folks disliking vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/24 "2011-06-10T14:19:44Z")
I think you need to establish the premise before you go speculating on the reason. A bunch of anecdotes don’t prove anything. Anecdotally, I’m obese but I love vegetables (cooked more than raw, though). I just hate food preparation, so I usually go for something pre-processed and hot. But put some steamed broccoli in front of me, or boiled cabbage, or spinach, or a baked potato, or a veggie platter with baby tomatoes and those little peapods, and I’ll love the hell out of it. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/25 "2011-06-10T16:30:31Z")
I have not noticed the same correlation. I know a lot of fat people, and their eating habits and preferences are just as varied as that of thin people I know. Plenty of fat people I know eat very closely to the USDA recommendations: lots of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, plant proteins, limit their saturated fat, etc. Anecdotal, but my best friend is about 90 lbs overweight and her sister is at least 200 lbs overweight - both of them love vegetables. We have prepared and eaten veggies many times together - but not plain steamed! I’m a very thin person but I want fat and flavor on my vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/26 "2011-06-10T16:38:38Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > I have no aversion to vegetables, but I notice that when I eat a meal with lots of fresh vegetables I get hungry again much sooner than when I eat a meal high in calories, protein, and fat. A big, fatty steak can literally satisfy me for a day, but the equivalent weight of zuccinni, cucumber, carrot, broccoli, lettuce and celery salad won’t satisfy me for even a few hours. > > Why does low calorie food satisfy me for a much shorter time? Cecil addressed this to some extent, albeit more with speculation than definitive answers, in [Why do you soon feel hungry again after eating Chinese food? Or do you?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2956/why-do-you-soon-feel-hungry-again-after-eating-chinese-food) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/27 "2011-06-10T16:47:04Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > grits made with lard Grits made with lard would be revolting. Where ever did you come up with such a notion? Were you just lumping together every Southern food stereotype you could think of? Grits are corn meal and are properly cooked with water, milk, and .75 metric tons of butter. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/28 "2011-06-10T16:57:29Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Grits made with lard would be revolting. Where ever did you come up with such a notion? Were you just lumping together every Southern food stereotype you could think of? Grits are corn meal and are properly cooked with water, milk, and .75 metric tons of butter. And they are yum! But alas I am a Northerner and eat them with sugar on top. ☹ Steamed veggies can be disgusting, though. I wonder if a whole generation of Americans doesn’t hate veggies just because the only way they were exposed to them was having them cooked to within an inch of their life. Veggies cooked properly are delicious. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@The\_Dord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dord)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/29 "2011-06-10T18:04:56Z")
I think the gist of this thread so far is that because you see fat people around where you live not eat vegetables, that not every other (fat) person in other places do the same. I’ve been losing weight myself, but its not with vegetables entirely. 😛 My problem was with sugary drinks and after I started to drink water or diet drink mixes, I’ve actually lost weight even when I didn’t eat more veggies than usual. For certain veggies (for not liking them), its the texture it brings into certain foods (eg. I’m expecting a burrito to be soft and meaty on it the inside, and I taste the crunch of an onion it would repulse me.) and not the veggie themselves. Though the taste of carrots do bring a gag reflex and if i try to eat one, i will vomit. But it perplexes me why I don’t have a problem with salsa. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/30 "2011-06-10T19:23:51Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Grits made with lard would be revolting. Where ever did you come up with such a notion? Were you just lumping together every Southern food stereotype you could think of? Grits are corn meal and are properly cooked with water, milk, and .75 metric tons of butter. Exactly. _Biscuits_ are made with lard. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/31 "2011-06-10T19:28:26Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Exactly. _Biscuits_ are made with lard. Oh, Lordy yes. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/32 "2011-06-10T19:37:45Z")
Y’all are making me hungry. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/33 "2011-06-10T19:44:55Z")
Try some vegetables. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/34 "2011-06-10T19:47:13Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > … fat people …said things to the effect of “I ain’t eatin’ no rabbit food”. 😕 Could it be that nobody ever tries to convince a skinny person to eat vegitables? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/35 "2011-06-10T19:50:40Z")
If anything could be considered proof of a loving god, it’s biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/36 "2011-06-10T20:37:30Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Grits made with lard would be revolting. Where ever did you come up with such a notion? Were you just lumping together every Southern food stereotype you could think of? Grits are corn meal and are properly cooked with water, milk, and .75 metric tons of butter. Please don’t spread misinformation in GQ. Nobody who cooks grits uses the metric system. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/37 "2011-06-10T20:48:33Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Please don’t spread misinformation in GQ. Nobody who cooks grits uses the metric system. Seriously. Actually, I would argue that a significant portion of people who cook grits regularly don’t use any sort of measuring system whatsoever. One of the greatest magic tricks of my life is watching my grandmother cook. Her recipies are totally awesome - ‘handfuls’ and ‘sprinkles’ and ‘bits’ and ‘tosses’ all over the place. And for our anecdata tally on the thread topic 😃 I’m skinny and a supertaster, and veggies (along with a ton of other things) are nearly unbearably bitter to me. It’s taken a long time to find ways of cooking and types of veggies that I actually like, or can at least stand enough to eat a serving of them. If it weren’t for fruits and starches, I don’t think I’d eat enough plant material to measure in a given day. So count one in the opposite direction: a skinny person who hates veggies! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/38 "2011-06-10T22:13:47Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Please don’t spread misinformation in GQ. Nobody who cooks grits uses the metric system. I stand corrected. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/39 "2011-06-10T22:18:04Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Wondering if anyone has studied a genetic link, the aversion to healthy foods leading to consumption of excess amounts of the unhealthy, fattening ones, and resulting in obesity? To what gene would this behavior be linked, and what is the product of the expression of this gene that results in an aversion to vegetables? Be specific. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928/40 "2011-06-10T22:57:15Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > I am about 5% overweight. I have no aversion to vegetables, but I notice that when I eat a meal with lots of fresh vegetables I get hungry again much sooner than when I eat a meal high in calories, protein, and fat. A big, fatty steak can literally satisfy me for a day, but the equivalent weight of zuccinni, cucumber, carrot, broccoli, lettuce and celery salad won’t satisfy me for even a few hours. It’s the protein. There’s a billion studies on it (I could cite all day, but a quick Google search will throw up millions of results for your pleasure). Protein satiates hunger for longer than other food groups. (One of the reasons Atkins works). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-every-single-obese-person-ive-ever-know-hates-vegetables-genetic-link/584928.md?page=3)