Gene Eating: The Story of Human Appetite

by Dr Giles Yeo

Before you scoff, consider this; if you type in three of the most popular food-related hashtags, #food, #foodie or #foodporn into the Instagram search bar, you’ll end up with more than half a billion hits. That is billion with a ‘b’. Food is HUGE on social media, and because of its focus on pretty pictures, it is one of the biggest things on Instagram. What is interesting is that the only other subject that competes with #food on Instagram is #fitness or #fitspo where you get pretty pictures of very pretty people, wearing not very much, sporting abs and quads and delts and gluts, and doing fit things. I say interesting because a large number of these scantily clad fit people also display the meals that they eat ‘post-workout’, that have presumably contributed to their sculpted bodies. Work out like me, eat like me, look like me.