Energy Balance, Kilo-calories, and the Truth About Weight Loss

With dieting, what many people fail to realize is it's more than how much we eat. Scientific evidence suggests that there are several contributing factors to consider in terms of weight loss, including, "food, medications, physical inactivity, toxins, and viruses as environmental agents that interact with a genetically programmed host to disturb energy balance and cause obesity." (Bray, 2005) So many fad diets focus entirely on the food that is consumed instead of taking all the other contributing factors into consideration. This research navigates outside the realm of fad diets and pop science by being informative and evidence based. While dietitians will sell you their idea for the perfect diet, the truth is that obesity can be attributed to a combination of a number of things. The research points to three aspects to consider when attempting to prevent or treat, "the epidemic: education, regulation, and modification of the food supply." The authors point to information as an important aspect in the epidemic because for decades people have been misinformed about what diet is most beneficial for their health long term. The authors encourage diet professionals to be, "keenly aware of the complexity of the obesity problem."