Why We Get Fat

We get fat when we take in more energy than we expend (a positive energy balance, in the scientific terminology), and we get lean when we expend more than we take in (a negative energy balance). Food is energy, and we measure that energy in the form of calories. So, if we take in more calories than we expend, we get fatter. If we take in fewer calories, we get leaner.

Obesity and overweight, so we’ll be told, are associated with an increased risk of virtually every chronic disease that ails us—heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, dementia, asthma.

If you accept my arguments as valid and change your diet accordingly, you may be going against your doctor’s advice, and certainly that of the health organizations and government agencies that dictate the consensus opinion on what constitutes a healthy diet.