Ask Lemmy

The reason you're noticing it is because of marketing propaganda. Anyone who sells a product that contains protein wants to highlight that aspect to take advantage of the public mindset who believes protein is an essential part of our diets. And the reason we even believe protein is an essential part of our diet is also because of marketing, even though it might be the case that protein actually is an essential component. The majority of the public would not know this unless they learned of it through the media. Read Propaganda by Edward Bernays. It talks about where this approach began at the beginning of the 20th century.

One reason is that our dairy industry needs to find a way to sell a gazillion tons of excess whey protein.

No one eats enough protein. It keeps you sated, and also helps retain and grow muscle if you exercise. For a country everyone calls fat, everyone SHOULD be having more of it.

people basically listening to influencers about how you need to goto the gym to be considered someone who fits in with society and eating all the protein versions of whatever food you eat.

Congratulations, you’ve discovered the nature of advertising.

A while back during the gluten-free craze my laundry detergent proudly had “gluten-free” on the packaging.

EDIT: I learned it’s possible for plant-based detergents to have contact with gluten, so for those with zero tolerance it can be a concern.

As a vegan, it's annoying. This obsession makes everyone concerned "where I get my protein."

But no one seems to track their fiber, sodium, iron, riboflavin, etc. and would be miffed if I constantly asked people about it.

It turns out the answer is realy very long, but it's a hell of a ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K35FtbuyTh4

TLDW:
It's a right-wing grift. The Leftist Cooks argue that carnivore and “protein-maxxing” diets are not about health; they’re tied to masculinity, control, grift, and far-right politics. They use figures like Jordan Peterson and the Liver King to show how restrictive meat-heavy high protein diets can become symbols of power, identity, and pseudo-scientific authority.

The broader argument is food is never just food. Dietary choices can carry cultural meaning, political signaling, and ideological pressure, and that high protein culture is part of a larger ecosystem that can normalize authoritarian, anti-science, and anti-egalitarian thinking.

The video is excellent though. It's basically a miniseries on the various causes and effects of this and it's incredibly well put together, even if it is 6 hours long. 😱

i assumed it was the popularity of gym culture moving into every day life

GLP-1, Ozempic or weightloss drugs.

heres a youtube video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4y3r5vyac8

havent watched it. this discussion just popped up in another forum a few hours ago.

probably something about the lower calories intake while still getting enough proteins or smth like that.

Macho culture -> bulking-> protein

Lmfao at this whole thread of nonsense answers.

It's not a weird obsession.

If you want to be muscular, then you need to eat a lot of protein.

If you want to be muscular and have a low body fat percentage, then you need to eat a lot of protein, and eat a lot of protein / calorie you eat.

If you're old and want to slow down how quickly your muscles waste away to maintain your physical health, you need to eat a lot of protein.

And protein is generally one of the more expensive parts of food, so companies constantly try and cut back and replace it with carbs and sugar instead... All leading to people seeking out food with high protein content

Influencer slop. That's literally it.