Dwarves don't get strong out of heavy labor, they just sort of end up as physical gods from carving trinkets out of wood. Whether a dwarf needs to eat more would be completely random, not actually dependent on his work. Muscles are also permanent
Yes, we all know stat-gains are utterly stupid and broken right now, naturally that and a half million other things need to be fixed ALSO. It's almost impossible to suggest ANY change to DF without it being 'defeated' or 'broken' by another bug. I don't think anyone seriously expects to make any suggestion in total isolation, and it should be assumed that when people refer to other sub-system tie-ins they expect those systems will be fixed as well but are not going into the details so as to keep the thread on topic.
Well put... Also, more to the point, it's being 'fixed' (adjusted?) in the next release.
the reason i linked it to skills, was because skills are earned through jobs, and unlike real life it doesn't go away with disuse.
Another thing fixing to change.
Can we agree on a few things, just to frame the debate?
The amount of items a dwarf eats is not necessarily important. One plump helmet isn't enough to feed a dwarf because a dwarf eats, but because one unit of plump helmet is defined as the amount a dwarf eats in a month. If you look at cows, you will see a similar fact is true. A cow isn't made up of only 5(or whatever) steaks, but a cow is enough meat to feed one adult for about 5(or whatever) months. Increasing the number of plump helmets a dwarf eats would not make the game more realistic in that sense, even if it would cause a better farming effort balance.
A specific unit of space is not a defined area. Thus, for farming, and because space is rarely a premium, one square can be of variable size, and thus considered 'enough space to grow food for 1 month in one season'. Increasing the space required would increase time, because walking is broken, but would not increase planting time or effort. It would also not cost an appreciable amount of space (since short of walking being expensive, space is free).
Eating Costs:
Eater Transport time (walking around, generally 99% of the time)
Go to Food Pile
Go to Dining Room
Go back to work
Actually Eating (small chunk of time)
Sit, eat
Farming Costs:
Farmer Transport time (walking around, about 95% of the time)
Go to Seed Pile
Go to Farm
...
Go to Farm
Go to Food Stockpile
Farmer work costs
Stick seed in ground.
Hopefully you'll agree that any solution (at present) is either going to involve increasing walking time (not fun) or have very little effect on the game. Requiring more plants is one way to do this (since 95% of that time will be walking).
My solution? Just mod seeds to be 100lbs a piece. QED