Gary Taubes : Calories vs Carbohydrates
Gary Taubes Calories vs Carbohydrates: Clearing up Confusion over Competing Obesity Paradigms
The science of obesity has been dogged for a century by a controversial question: is the condition an energy balance problem or a hormonal one? Do we accumulate excess fat merely because we consume more calories than we expend — we eat too much and exercise too little — or do we accumulate excess fat because the homeostatic mechanisms regulating fat metabolism and storage are out of whack. If the latter is the case, then positive energy balance (overeating) is an effect of getting fat, not a cause, and the prime environmental suspect for the cause of excess adiposity is the carbohydrate content of the diet and its effect on insulin signaling. This video by author Gary Taubes covers how we might tell these two scenarios apart and potential experiments to resolve this century-old conflict.