--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the first time in history, more…" description: "\"“For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/945/yuval-noah-harari-100_first-time_for-the-first-time-in-history-more-peopl_1908652.jpg" --- # For the first time in history, more people die today from… ![“For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals combined. In the early twenty-first century, the…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/945/yuval-noah-harari-100_first-time_for-the-first-time-in-history-more-peopl_1908652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/945/yuval-noah-harari-100_first-time_for-the-first-time-in-history-more-peopl_1908652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/945/yuval-noah-harari-100_first-time_for-the-first-time-in-history-more-peopl_1908652.jpg) > ““For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals combined. In the early twenty-first century, the average human is far more likely to die from bingeing at McDonald’s than from drought, Ebola or an al-Qaeda attack.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern mortality is dominated by lifestyle and chronic diseases rather than traditional threats. **In simple terms:** Most deaths now come from lifestyle choices. Key Takeaway Prioritize health and preventive care. Themes health society mortality modernity Mood concerned urgent Type informative analytical When to use this quote - diet planning - public health campaigns - personal wellness Key Concepts epidemiology public policy nutrition Questions to Reflect On - How can societies shift toward healthier lifestyles? - What policies reduce chronic disease risk? A Different Perspective Changing habits is difficult and requires systemic support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Science is telling us that the reason people die is not because some god said so or because the laws of nature mandate it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/science-is-telling-us-that-the-reason-people-die-is-not-because-some/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“People used to die naturally. Old age used to be a terminal affliction, not a temporary state. There were invisible killers called “diseases” that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/people-used-to-die-naturally-old-age-used-to-be-a-terminal-affliction/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [The average human being spends three years of life going to the toilet, though the average human being with no physical toilet to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-average-human-being-spends-three-years-of-life-going-to-the/) [Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/) > [I have less compassion than the average human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/i-have-less-compassion-than-the-average-human/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Do you not know how uncontrolled and unreliable the average human being is in all that concerns sexual life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/do-you-not-know-how-uncontrolled-and-unreliable-the-average-human/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Average human nature is very coarse, and its ideals must necessarily be average. The world never loved perfect poise. What the world does love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/average-human-nature-is-very-coarse-and-its-ideals-must-necessarily/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The average human will spend one-third of their life asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/the-average-human-will-spend-one-third-of-their-life-asleep/) I > [To be honest, I feel like just an average human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-alvarez/to-be-honest-i-feel-like-just-an-average-human-being/) [Eddy Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-alvarez/) > [“An average human looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/an-average-human-looks-without-seeing-listens-without-hearing-touches/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“The storage capacity of the average human brain is two-hundred and fifty-six exabytes. However, the average adult human only uses approximately one billionth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-monroe/the-storage-capacity-of-the-average-human-brain-is-two-hundred-and/) [Michael Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-monroe/) > [“Even today, in a period of decline, the average human being is physically better off than he was a few centuries ago. But no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-today-in-a-period-of-decline-the-average-human-being-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no such thing as an average human being. If you have a normal brain, you are superior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-average-human-being-if-you-have-a-normal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All the average human being asks is something he can call a home; a family that is fed and warm; and now and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/all-the-average-human-being-asks-is-something-he-can-call-a-home-a/) Mother Jones > [''Life is contained and it isn't meant to be controlled but we seek to control it.'' ''Thus my observation from nature is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/life-is-contained-and-it-isn-t-meant-to-be-controlled-but-we-seek-to/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“The average human looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, inhales without smelling, and talks without thinking.” - Leonardo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-hazari/the-average-human-looks-without-seeing-listens-without-hearing/) Dharma Hazari ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Eating quotes > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [I have my meals delivered... you know what I like? Chicken and rice... But the problem with being a defensive lineman is, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-douglas/i-have-my-meals-delivered-you-know-what-i-like-chicken-and-rice-but/) [Hugh Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-douglas/) > [I do not believe in eating fish hot. People always insist on hot fish, but that leaves it dried out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/i-do-not-believe-in-eating-fish-hot-people-always-insist-on-hot-fish/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [One things guys have to remember is consistency... You can't make up for three years of eating poorly in just one workout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/one-things-guys-have-to-remember-is-consistency-you-can-t-make-up-for/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [My mom cares that I tweeted a picture of my breakfast. She's knows I'm eating and I'm safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/my-mom-cares-that-i-tweeted-a-picture-of-my-breakfast-she-s-knows-i-m/) [Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [I have an intense dislike of doctrines, because you will always end up eating your words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/i-have-an-intense-dislike-of-doctrines-because-you-will-always-end-up/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [The worst thing for me is to not taste what I'm eating, to not know what I'm eating. It upsets me to no avail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-robuchon/the-worst-thing-for-me-is-to-not-taste-what-i-m-eating-to-not-know/) [Joel Robuchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-robuchon/) > [The heaviest I've ever been is 65 kilos. That was during my Leaving Cert when I was just studying and eating chocolate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-taylor/the-heaviest-i-ve-ever-been-is-65-kilos-that-was-during-my-leaving/) [Katie Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-taylor/) > [For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-fear-of-causing-terror-to-living-beings-mahamati-let-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The good Bishop of Assisi expressed a sort of horror at the hard life which the Little Brothers lived at the Portiuncula, without comforts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-bishop-of-assisi-expressed-a-sort-of-horror-at-the-hard-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [I have a great time cooking and eating Thai green chicken curry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-have-a-great-time-cooking-and-eating-thai-green-chicken-curry/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) [Browse all 4,153 Eating quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals combined. 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