VCs Jumping On The Fat Bubble Bandwagon
from the obesity-is-a-trend dept
VCs like to look for big trends that they can use to project out a few years in order to try to back the companies that will be huge -- rather than just decent businesses (or, worse but more likely, failures). And, right now, one gigantic trend in the US is the fact that we are all, well, gigantic. It seems that the latest lemming-like move in VC investing is to pump money into ventures looking to trim the fat, literally. VCs of all kinds are investing in a variety of companies that have different strategies for fighting the "obesity epidemic." Of course, it wasn't that long ago that we heard stories about VCs being interested in food franchises as well -- so maybe this is yet another opportunity for VC hedging.
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Heh
There haven't been any basic science advances shown to improve human obesity. As experiments have shown, lab rats have much simpler fat metabolism than humans -- just give them leptin, and they will stay skinny forever. Human biochemistry isn't so easily fooled; leptin only works for a short time, after which humans develop a resistance to it.
We cannot just give experimental drugs to humans without testing them on lab animals first; on the other hand, lab animals do not adequately resemble humans.
The only real solution to the fat problem is to treat it the same way we dealt with tobacco, through extensive public health interventions, limiting advertisement and access to fatty foods. But in today's world, people have a greater phobia of such government interventions.
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Re: Heh
if only there was a real solution to the dorpus problem lol
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Re: Heh
AC: Dorpus's post is actually on topic for once. Maybe it's a pseudo-dorpus masquerading as a true dorpus.
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