Debunk Fad Diets and Discover What Works

Unfortunately, the world is filled with diet scams, and you likely do not believe that Why Diet and Exercise Fail has truly identified the cause of the skyrocketing prevalence of obesity in modern times and has the solution. For that reason, you are not asked to trust me, I will trust you. All of Why Diet and Exercise Fail is available online for free . The author believes that if you find the book valuable, you will recommend it to others, link to it, make a small donation, or buy the book in offline form.

It is not a secret that what we refer to as fast food, processed food, or junk food can cause weight gain and obesity. Nor do many people dispute that a diet high in fruits and vegetables will cause weight loss. The question is why this occurs, and the answer will affect not only how we should eat to lose weight, but how we should eat to maintain a normal weight. This site examines all of the changes in the modern diet and environment and systematically uses the process of elimination to narrow them down to those which are responsible for obesity. Consider a few of the diet fads debunked at the beginning of Why Diet and Exercise Fail^1,2

Fats

Not all fats cause weight gain. The Eskimo traditionally got 75% of their calories from fat and stayed thin, yet they are gaining weight on the lower fat Western diet. The French eat higher levels of saturated fat than Americans yet have an obesity rate that is 70% lower. If fats were the cause of obesity, the Eskimo and French would have higher rates of obesity and related diseases than Americans, but this is not the case.^3,4,5,6 Read more about fats.

Carbohydrates

Not all carbohydrates cause weight gain. Villagers in rural Thailand got 80% of their calories from white rice, a refined carbohydrate, and were free of weight gain and modern chronic diseases. American grain consumption has fallen more than a third since 1909, even as obesity rates have skyrocketed. If carbohydrates were the cause of obesity, we would expect the Thai to have higher levels of obesity than Americans, but they do not.^7,8,9,10 Read more about carbohydrates.

Exercise

Agricultural workers in California, who exercise heavily, are one of the most overweight groups in the state. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness reviewed thirteen large studies on diet and exercise and found that exercise has a very small effect on weight loss. If exercise was a cure for obesity, or a sedantary life style led to obesity, we would expect that exercise would have a more significant impact on weight loss.^11,12 Read more about exercise.

Genes

In 1900, less than one percent of Americans were obese.¹³ Today, over one third of Americans are obese. Some of us may have genes that protect us from weight gain. However, genes do not rapidly change over a single century and can not explain rising rates of obesity. Read more about genes.

Calories

Most overweight people who go on low calories diets rapidly regain lost weight when the diet ends.¹⁴ By contrast, one large experiment showed that normal weight people who went on a high calorie diet to gain weight rapidly lost the weight after the experiment ended.¹⁵ Calorie intake alone can not explain obesity. Read more about calories.

² Claire Heald. "Going ape." BBC News. 4/04/2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6248975.stm.

³ Gadsby, Patricia. "The Inuit Paradox." Discover Magazine. 4/04/2009 http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/inuit-paradox.

⁴ Dewailly, Eric. "n-3 Fatty acids and cardiovascular disease risk factors among the Inuit of Nunavik." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 4/04/2009 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/4/464.

⁵ Core Health Indicators." World Health Organization Statistical Information System. 3/31/2009 http://www.who.int/whosis/.

⁶ Spencer, Mimi. "Let them eat cake." Observer. 4/04/2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2004/nov/07/foodanddrink.features11.

⁸ Gershoff, Stanley N. "Amino acid fortification of rice studies in Thailand." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 4/04/2009 http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/28/2/170.pdf.

⁹ Hans Diehl. "Western Diet Food Not Nutritious and High Calorie." Coronary Health Improvement Project. 6/04/2009 http://www.chiphealth.com/topics/diet-01-western-diet-changed.html.

¹⁰ "Agriculture FACT BOOK 98: Chapter 1-A." United States Department of Agriculture. 6/04/2009 http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/fbook98/ch1a.htm.

¹¹ Rodriguez, Michael. "Health of Migrant Farmworkers in California." California Research Bureau. 3/31/2009 http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/03/05/03-005.pdf.

¹² Welk , Gregory J. and Steven N. Blair. "Physical Activity Protects against the Health Risks of Obesity." The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest. 3/31/2009 http://www.fitness.gov/digest_dec2000.htm

¹³Jeffry Weiss. "Why We Eat . . . . and why we keep eating." Medical & Advisory Board – Insulite Laboratories. 6/04/2009 http://www.insulitelabs.com/articles/Why-We-Eat.html.

¹⁴Burros, Marian. "Diet Formulas: Losing the Weight Is the Easy Part." New York Times. 4/11/2009 http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/06/garden/diet-formulas-losing-the-weight-is-the-easy-part.html.

¹⁵Kolata, Gina. "Genes Take Charge, and Diets Fall by the Wayside." New York Times. 4/04/2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/health/08fat.html?_r=3&oref=slogin.