To reduce obesity, eat less rather than move more?
While a country's economic development is associated with an increased prevalence of obesity in its population, it was previously unclear whether increased calorie intake or reduced energy expenditure was primarily responsible. A new American study has concluded that increased calorie consumption, particularly from processed foods, is to blame.
The whole world has taken up running , Pilates, and gym workouts . Behind this renewed interest in physical activity is the desire to be healthy , and often, to watch one's weight. However, the key to avoiding obesity is mainly to eat less, according to a new study published on July 14 in PNAS , the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences.
“More than 1 billion people worldwide suffer from obesity, a global epidemic that health officials attribute to both increased calorie consumption and decreased physical activity. But which factor is more important?” asks Science .
To answer this question, a team led by Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University, analyzed a database of 4,213 participants from 34 countries across six continents. The goal was to quantify the number of calories burned daily by people living in different cultures, in order to understand whether those living in highly developed countries where people are more sedentary actually burned fewer calories per day than people in less industrialized countries where the population is regularly on the move.
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