British Tabloid Says Heavy Metal Can Make You Fat, Talk Show Reacts

You may have seen a screenshot from Jeremy Vine on 5 going around reading, “Does listening to heavy metal make you fat?” Turns out the bizarre topic was spurred on by an article in the Daily Star which links loud, aggressive music to poor dietary choices.

The Daily Star article isn’t on the publication’s website, but its title reads, “Metal Makes Us All Heavy — Loud Rock Linked to Craving Fatty Foods.” The article (which features a photo of Mr. Lordi) states that the music someone listens to can dictate their food choices, with fast and loud music featuring heavy dissonance and distortion revving up a listener so much that it will entice them to gorge on fatty foods. On the other hand, calm classical music may encourage listeners to make moderate and sensible choices.

Of course, this sounds incredibly stupid, and pundits from the British talk show discussed the topic on today’s episode (May 10) of Jeremy Vine on 5. “I’m kind of R&B-pop,” co-host Storm Huntley said about her own music taste. “That doesn’t make me want to have a salad. Nothing seems to make me want to have a salad.”

“It just could be one of these classic things,” Vine chimed in, “that very large people are drawn to heavy metal music rather than the other way round. The music that makes us want to have a salad, we’ve yet to discover.”

Another panelist spoke about classical music lulling you into a sense of warmth and comfort, which one could attempt to accentuate with a piece of chocolate cake.

The Vine pundits didn’t speak about the topic for very long, but you can watch their discussion at the very end of this episode.