The Obesity Code

by Jason Fung

Our body is not a simple scale balancing Calories In and Calories Out. Rather, our body is a thermostat. The set point for weight—the body set weight—is vigorously defended against both increase and decrease. Dr. Rudolph Leibel elegantly proved this concept in 1995.10 Subjects were deliberately overfed or underfed to reach the desired weight gain or loss. First, the group was overfed in order to gain 10 per cent of their body weight. Then, their diet was adjusted to return them to their initial weight, and then a further 10 per cent or 20 per cent weight loss was achieved. Energy expenditure was measured under all of these conditions.

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