Why Do We Crave Bad Things?

Abstract

Dr. Lou moves across the stage in front of the hundreds of attendees whose faces remain hidden against the dramatically bright house lights. He gestures toward a two-story-high image projected on the center-stage screen, depicting an African hunter-gatherer, whose lean and muscular physique would make any hardcore triathlete look like he was constructed of muffins. “This is what humans are supposed to look like,” Dr. Lou explains. “But this is what we actually look like,” as he switches slides to reveal a shirtless man slouching on the couch – with a round, doughy, bare, and grotesquely obese belly spilling over his belt – a television remote in hand. The comedic timing between the two contrasting images always conjures up laughter – and the odd “eww.” It does not take long before the sobering reality of our current public health emergency begins to settle in.