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It's often said that most people with a dog look like the dog they have. It might be a ridiculous statement, but there sure is some truth in it.

Now, when I look at different people with different diets, I notice this :

  • Fruitarians look like monkeys (not trying to bash vegans, if you want to know what I mean : YouTube Link (it becomes really clear at 0:24).
  • The butchers in my town sometimes look like porks (fat, with a red face), or they look quite lean.
  • The bakers in my town (there are 7) are all women that are quite fat and look very friendly.
  • The guys that sell fish are always in a very good mood, always smile and are quite lean.

Is there a correlation between diet and people's looks? If so, what is the paleo look?

EDIT : It seems like you don't understand the goal of my question at all. I didn't make statements like "all bakers are fat", "all butchers look like porks", ... This is just a fun thing to think about IMO. I learned at school that most introverts are thin and the rest is chubby. I often hear that "dog owners often look like their dog". I don't see what is wrong with my question. Again, this is not a statement, it's a question. No reason to get offended. You know damn well there is some truth in it.

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 That must be the reason Breatharians fade away. They don't die, they just become air! – Primordial Aug 28 2011 at 14:35
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 Wow, that fruitarian guy just looks horribly unhealthy to me, like an too thin unhealthy monkey :) – Lauren Aug 28 2011 at 15:36
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 "Fit and Healthy Raw Vegan"... that video was great. He eats more fruit in a day than I eat in a year. I'd imagine his pancreas hates him. – Wil Aug 28 2011 at 16:40
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 I don't know about that, Nemesis. I wouldn't be able to eat like him, but he sure is fit. I don't know about how healthy he is though. I don't know him personally. – Korion Aug 28 2011 at 17:31
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 To me he looks emaciated. Here's a pic of him from his blog, he's the one wearing the black band (heart rate monitor?) around his chest durianrider.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/… – Nemesis Aug 28 2011 at 18:48
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4 Answers

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I hate to be a total killjoy here but these conversations about the supposed correlation between diet and "looks" make me incredibly uncomfortable.

Could that fat baker woman you assume is a lazy unhealthy big fat heifer have recently lost 50 lbs on a healthy diet and be planning to hit the gym after work? Could she have recently gained 50 lbs because she's going through a divorce or lost a child or some other horrendous life event? Could that skinny fish monger have cancer and have lost a lot of weight from chemo and be so freaking happy just to be alive? Maybe that red face is sunburn or the big "alcoholic nose" is rosacea and has nothing to do with diet?

Taken to the nth degree we get stupid, dangerous stuff like people with dark skin must be "illegals". Fat people are lazy and stupid. Women who wear short skirts are "asking for it". Trying to make assumptions about people by the way they look without any more information than that is dangerous territory guys. I wish we would stop it.

Go ahead. Down vote away.

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3 
 Good comment Shari. Also,that which they are selling doesn't mean they eat it (most of it) too. For instance,I know a butcher who rarely eats meat. I myself have been the daughter of a baker and apart from the occasional B'Day I wouldn't eat any of the baked pastries,it was only during the last couple of years that I started eating it too much(due to parasites,chronic cardio etc.) and we don't even have a bakery anymore. – Joey Aug 28 2011 at 17:13
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 +1. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Constant projections on those around us may be a very base and common way of making us feel better about ourselves, but they all too commonly are only projections of our crap and do not represent reality!!!! – Atkins-witha-loincloth Aug 28 2011 at 17:33
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 Korian I don't doubt that your intention was to offer up some harmless fun. I apologize that I wasn't able to communicate my thoughts and feelings well enough for you to understand why I feel this sort of thing is actually not harmless even though it may be perceived as such by some. This issue has come up before and it will come up again and I will keep saying the same thing. It's not a personal attack against you or anyone else who wants to engage in this sort of speculation but an attack against a way of thinking that I believe to be dangerous. – Shari Bambino Aug 28 2011 at 18:23
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 And to be perfectly honest this is a very sore subject for me. As someone who has spent most of her life being judged because of the way I looked (losing jobs to skinny people because fat people must be incompetent, people assuming I was lazy and not working out or doing anything physical because of how fat I was, etc.) I almost did not attend AHS because I don't "look paleo" enough. Another PHers there and I were talking and we both had prayed not to be the fattest people in the room and were so happy that was not the case. Sad but true. – Shari Bambino Aug 28 2011 at 19:37
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 I'm gonna think twice before posting a question like this now ^^. And you totally deserve to get the best answer as you went through all that. – Korion Aug 29 2011 at 6:48
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Fun question, but I don't see much correlation except for the bakers. Where I shop, it seems like everyone is fat, except at the farmer's markets when a real farmer happens to show up. The fruit farmers seem thinner than the egg sellers. Maybe it is because fruit farming is harder than reselling eggs. It is my experience that people with the reddest faces eat lots of wheat and grains.

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I see a lot of fat, red-faced butchers but surprisingly most bakers seem to be thin, but ill-looking while the butchers have a more healthy glowing look. The latter also seem to be more happy, open and balanced. Maybe they become fat because they combine processed carbs with more fat. But the fat also makes them happier. Now, that's a refined theory, isn't it? – Primordial Aug 28 2011 at 14:47
at my fave store, the butchers seem to be the happiest. The store doesn't have a sep bakery, and frankly, I don't seek bakeries out anymore, so who knows?? – The Loon Aug 28 2011 at 21:37
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What you eat influences how you look for sure, but it's not really as clear-cut as that.

When I stick to eating mainly meat and fat, my body fat and water retention go down, my face narrows, my veins stand out more.

When I eat lots of carbs, my water and fat go up and I look puffier.

When I eat much sugar, my face gets inflamed and my acne flares up.

Look at the difference between paleo-skinny guys who are generally lean and cut without having to work that hard at it, and frugivore/vegan-skinny guys who are like stick figures with a bit of a pot belly, or if they have any muscle at all, it's because they're constantly lifting.

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0

I like this question. You guys are uptight.

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