Obesity is one major concern across the globe. According to the World Health Organisation's 2016 data, 650 million adults worldwide are suffering from this lifestyle disease. For the unversed, obesity is excessive fat accumulation in body that may often increase the risks of heart diseases, diabetes and more. A dietary guideline by USDA reds that to lose weight, adults need to "reduce the number of calories they get from foods and beverages and increase the amount expended through physical activity". In fact, every health expert too stress on balanced diet and healthy lifestyle for healthy weight management. This means, to prevent obesity one needs to burn out the fats they are consuming.
However, a new study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, highlights an alternate approach towards effective weight loss. The researchers of the study state that weight gain or obesity is not always associated to how much you eat; instead, it majorly depends on what quality of food you are consuming.
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According to lead author Dr. David Ludwig, Endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School, "the energy balance model doesn't help us understand the biological causes of weight gain. During a growth spurt, for instance, adolescents may increase food intake by 1,000 calories a day. But does their overeating cause the growth spurt or does the growth spurt cause the adolescent to get hungry and overeat?"
The researchers further state that the modern dietary pattern should be blamed for the current obesity epidemic. Today, our diet regime includes foods that are high on glycemic index, processed and loaded with carbs/starch. These foods further change our metabolism, "driving fat storage, weight gain, and obesity," the study explains.
This is why Dr. Ludwig explains, "Reducing consumption of the rapidly digestible carbohydrates that flooded the food supply during the low-fat diet era lessens the underlying drive to store body fat. As a result, people may lose weight with less hunger and struggle."
However, the researchers state that further research is needed to draw a conclusion whether this new model helps accelerate affective weight loss and prevent obesity.