Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for startups?
The leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease. >90% of these cases can be attributed to an overweight population. It's not an easy problem to solve, but there <i>has</i> to be a way to fix it. Lots of calorie counting apps, activity trackers, motivational reminder apps, etc. Obesity is very complicated, but there are three basic facts:<p>1. Calories in, calories out is the golden rule.<p>2. The <i>vast</i> majority of calories come from carbohydrates.<p>3. Carbohydrates activate addictive dopaminergic pathways (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/pdf/nihms36189.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/pdf/nih...</a>)<p>People overeat because food is easy to access, and it provides a short-term, immediate chemical reward. External rewards often need to be introduced to break this vicious cycle. Hobbies, relationships, career achievements, etc. can function as alternative rewards. Perhaps there is a way for technology to provide short-term rewards in lieu of eating?