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Comment by EpicEng | Hacker News Reader

I don't know why you're getting downvoted. A calorie is a calorie in isolation. Eating at a surplus because you don't feel full after eating a bag of M&M's doesn't change that fact.

It certainly helps (in many ways) to e.g. increase protein in leue of sugar, but that you will certainly ly lose weight if calories burned > calories consumed.

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It's because people want to have a sense of control and that is achieved in this case by making wild hypotheses about losing weight. It's further complicated by authors like in the linked article wanting to sell controversy and/or diets that are unsustainable or uncomfortable in the long term (soup diets, atkins, feral, etc). Controversy feeds rebellion which in turn is a way of feeling in control.

You could make the alternate case that people want to believe that "a calorie is a calorie" despite the evidence to the contrary because it means they don't need to change their habits. Defense against change. It's not surprising that people prefer the "science" that conveniently reinforces their life choices. The USDA and the food industry is also perfectly happy with the status-quo, because processed foods are a lot more profitable than whole foods are. In that sense, it's not surprising that people suggesting healthy foods are considered "radicals" -- people don't want to change what they eat, and the food industry doesn't want to change what they sell.

The medical scientists / professors I know have gone through several revolutions in medical science (statins, diabetes treatments, resuscitation procedures, surgical procedures, dialysis, etc.). I wouldn't call them unable to change their habits. In fact, they are few of the smartest people I know.

I don't know about the margins of food, but I consider preparing food from the basic ingredients somewhat time-wasting and costly (when I actually order or buy and prepare them myself). As they can have fine nutritional values, I don't think processed foods can be generalized to be bad per se.

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