More food + no exercise = weight gain. Really?

From an Endocrine Society linkurl:press release;http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals/20060627/NYTU00827062006-1.html describing a study presented at their national conference this week: 'Our preliminary results indicate that body weight is compromised and weight goes up when people are exposed to an environment with unlimited availability of palatable food and low levels of daily activity,' said University of Chicago researcher Plamen Penev. Stop the presses! Read further, and you

Written byIvan Oransky
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
From an Endocrine Society linkurl:press release;http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals/20060627/NYTU00827062006-1.html describing a study presented at their national conference this week: 'Our preliminary results indicate that body weight is compromised and weight goes up when people are exposed to an environment with unlimited availability of palatable food and low levels of daily activity,' said University of Chicago researcher Plamen Penev. Stop the presses! Read further, and you realize that what Penev was actually trying to study was whether disturbed sleep has an effect on insulin resistance. That may actually be important. So aside from the fact that this environment seems to describe the US, did we really need that quote?
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies