That look tasty
I think that’s probably the worst part of it all: it’s not like these folks are living like hedons in Ancient Rome and ENJOYING all this sugary/fatty garbage: they’re eating it just to feel “normal’, which, as you observe, is honestly feeling like crap. The dopamine hit that comes with it gets significantly reduced with the frequent exposure, which is one of the many causes of obesity: they have to eat even MORE to get that same hit as before.
You observation regarding protein percentage of total calories is something that Dr. Ted Naiman has postulated as well. His theory is that we’d solve all of obesity if we got people to eat 30% of their total calories from protein, but if we even got that number to 20% we’d make significant headway, because right now the number on average is something like 8%.
Carbs and fats are fuel. Protein is a builder. We are overfueled for how little activity we’re doing.