[heax]

I think the simple truth is we simply eat too much.

Possible the worldwide most known modern food product is the Big Mac. Named Big Mac, not Best Mac, think about it. And it doesn't stop there, large pizzas, pizzas with a lot on top, XXL Schnitzels, All you can eat Chinese.

A lot people make quantity a priority over quality, guess what happens :)

[elil17]

The whole point of the article is that this is an inadequate explanation. First, the author points out that the increase in calorie consumption has been modest compared to the amount of weight gained. Second, why are we eating more? Moral failure and weak will are the popular explanations, but this fails to explain a variety of observations (Why now - haven’t humans always wanted to eat delicious food? Why do some hunter gatherer societies with surplus food not experience the same thing? Why are wild animals also effected?).

[oezi]

I wouldn't say 400 extra calories is modest, if you consider Calories in/Calories Out then even a modest increase in calories is leading to a continued accumulation.

By the authors examples eating 1.000 calories extra for 10 days gives you 1kg of weight gain. Assuming that the average diet went from 2.000 to 2.400 calories, it makes sense that people should gain 400*365/10.000 = 15kg per year until that extra body mass is increasing base level energy need or people are more physically active (but 1 hour of physical exercise is only 600 calories for many sports).

[stronglikedan]

> we simply eat too much

Hear, hear. I dropped ~70 pounds just by learning my portions. It took about 6 months, but now I can just look at a plate of food and separate out the amount that will fill me, before I even start to eat (the 2-fist rule is a good start). I can make 2-3 meals out of a typical restaurant dinner portion, or I can just order an appetizer as my meal if I'm not taking leftovers.

I dropped another ~20 pounds by cutting out processed foods, preservatives, and chemicals. I likely won't eat something that I couldn't otherwise make a home using whole ingredients.

Restrictive diets never worked for me. I eat whatever I want, whether it be loaded with carbs or fried. I just make sure to include plenty of fiber in my diet, only eat when hungry, and never over eat. It's the only diet that I've been able to sustain for more than a year (~5 years now, to be exact).

[frabjoused]

This. There's so many ideas and theories on diets, but it seems the bottom line is, are you eating more than you're burning?