Scientists claim that overeating is not the primary cause of obesity

The study is highlighting how overeating is not the ONLY variable to consider if someone is obese, but surely... it is a necessary one, at least in most cases. Is there any case that will result in getting fatter from reducing calories? They mention it's about insulin resistance, and that happens after you overeat at least carbs and sugars. So overeating is always a factor, especially considering how many processed foods are high calorie, which means it's easier to overeat calories.

I would even go as far to say that in modern times almost everyone is overeating in terms of calories. Three meals a day is a lot, and it's why so many gain weight after 30. We have grown accustomed to thinking getting old means getting fat, but I think that's just because of how calorie dense our modern diet is.

Having studied this for some 20 years, I too am pretty convinced that "calories in, calories out" is little more than naive thinking. That's just not how the body works.

Yes, often you'll hear things like "studies show that approx. 20 % are successful at weight loss". But the definition of weight loss in those studies tends to be something like "maintained a weight loss of 5 kg or more after 5 years." Since one's weight can easily fluctuate +-1,5 kg during the course of the day, that should feel a bit underwhelming. And that's not even the whole truth, or anything even near the truth —

If you look at people who have a lost a significant amount of weight (20-40 kg), the success rate drops to essentially zero (<1%). So as far as studies can tell, it seems to be very difficult, if not impossible, to lose a large amount of weight by calorie deficit alone. The body seems to have a set point weight that it still prefers years and years after significant weight loss.

In fact, even gastric bypass patients often gain back a significant amount of weight 5-10 years after surgery. And those people people typically can't eat sugary foods, because it makes them ill, and they can only eat very very small portions (the stomach is reduced to the size of a lemon). Still they somehow manage to gain weight!

In fact, I have a hypothesis that very low calorie diets are one of the CAUSES of morbid obesity. People who go on VLCDs tend to follow a cycle whereby they lose around 10–20 % of body weight and then gain back around 15–30 % within 2-3 years. Repeat that a few cycles, and an overweight person will quickly be morbidly obese.

  The authors argue ... obesity as a metabolic disorder driven by what we eat, rather than how much.

Agree. Overeating is caused by malnutrition. A lack of needed nutrients, even with too many calories, fails to satiate. A diet dense in the required nutrients satiates and suppresses overeating. For me the primary missing component was protein. Fixing that cured my binge eating and morbid obesity.

(2021)

> Public health messaging exhorting people to eat less and exercise more has failed to stem rising rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Isn't that just because people don't follow the messaging?