From an outsider's perspective, obesity seems like a simple problem to solve: Eat less, exercise more. But, the body regulates food intake and feelings of satiety as part of a tightly regulated homeostatic process. Once a person becomes obese, it's these same regulatory feedback loops that also defend the obese state as the new "normal." Losing weight is difficult, in part, because of the starvation signals that your body sends in order to keep your weight constant.
Today a full third of all Americans are obese, more than 50% are overweight, and 300,000 die annually from obesity-related metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Most therapies are geared at blocking fat absorption or curbing appetite, yet the precise contribution of overeating to obesity is unclear. Studying diet in obese patients is confounded by the fact that ...
