Obesity Not Linked to Overeating

Primary cause of obesity may not be overeating as the root causes of the obesity epidemic are more related to what we eat rather than how much we eat.

Primary cause of obesity may not be overeating as the root causes of the obesity epidemic are more related to what we eat rather than how much we eat according to a perspective ”The Carbohydrate-Insulin Model: A Physiological Perspective on the Obesity Pandemic,” published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Obesity is found to affect more than 40% of American adults, as per statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This places the individuals at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

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‘Primary cause of obesity may not be overeating as the root causes of the obesity epidemic are more related to what we eat rather than how much we eat.’

The USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020 - 2025 further tells us that losing weight “requires adults to reduce the number of calories they get from foods and beverages and increase the amount expended through physical activity.”

Thus the approach dates back to a centuries-old method where the energy balance model states that weight gain is caused by consuming more energy than we expend.

The Carbohydrate-Insulin Model

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The present study point to fundamental flaws in the energy balance model. The study suggests that the carbohydrate-insulin model (with its origins dating to the early 1900s), better explains obesity and weight gain.

“During a growth spurt, for instance, adolescents may increase food intake by 1,000 calories a day. But does their overeating cause the growth spurt or does the growth spurt cause the adolescent to get hungry and overeat?”, says lead author Dr. David Ludwig, Endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School.

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The carbohydrate-insulin model makes a bold claim that overeating isn’t the main cause of obesity. It emphasizes the harm of modern dietary patterns characterized by excessive consumption of foods with a high glycemic load: in particular, processed, rapidly digestible carbohydrates.

These foods cause hormonal responses that fundamentally change our metabolism, driving fat storage, weight gain, and obesity.

Thus, the highly processed carbohydrates signal fat cells to store more calories, leaving fewer calories available to fuel muscles and other metabolically active tissues. This allows the body to starve for energy and in turn, leads to feelings of hunger.

“Reducing consumption of the rapidly digestible carbohydrates that flooded the food supply during the low-fat diet era lessens the underlying drive to store body fat. As a result, people may lose weight with less hunger and struggle,” says Dr. Ludwig.

Source-Medindia