Dietary Factors and Calorie Balance: Unveiling the Root Causes of Obesity Due to Overnutrition in Modern Society
The Tang Dynasty poet Li Shen wrote in his famous poem "Sympathy for the Peasants": "Hoeing the fields at midday, sweat drips onto the soil. Who knows that every grain of rice in the bowl is the result of hard work?" This poem means that every grain of rice is hard-earned and advises people not to waste food. With improved economic conditions and living standards, people have a wide variety of food to choose from, and thus, "every grain is hard-earned" has taken on a new meaning. Nowadays, weight loss has become a trend, and many people diet to lose weight, eating as little as possible. For them, eating more rice easily leads to weight gain. Therefore, they strongly resist being asked to eat more, feeling that "every grain is hard-earned." Although their attitude towards food may be somewhat problematic, the fact that overeating easily leads to weight gain is undeniable.
As everyone knows, obesity is related to excessive calorie intake, and the source of calories is food. Foods that provide calories include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. One gram of carbohydrate provides 4,000 calories, one gram of protein provides 4,000 calories, and one gram of fat provides 9,000 calories. Therefore, the more you eat, the more carbohydrates, protein, and fat you will consume. If calorie intake exceeds the body's needs, or if calorie intake exceeds calorie expenditure, the excess calories will be stored in the body as fat, causing you to gain weight and become overweight.
Many overweight men and women frequently talk about wanting to lose weight, yet they don't control their diet. It's a well-known fact that diet is a major factor contributing to obesity. Consider impoverished and underdeveloped areas: poor economic conditions, food shortages, and people living in hunger lead to malnutrition and emaciation, making it difficult for "overweight men and women" to appear. Obesity only thrives in economically affluent societies with a culture of excessive nutrient absorption. Therefore, to lose weight, the first step is to control your diet and avoid overeating and nutrient overload.
Controlling your diet doesn't mean blindly dieting, eating less, not eating, or fasting. To maintain good health, you should first follow the principle of a balanced diet. The ideal dietary pattern is that calorie intake equals calorie expenditure. For obese individuals, a balanced diet can only stabilize their weight, not necessarily help with weight loss. Therefore, to lose weight, you might choose a slightly negative calorie balance diet, where calorie intake is slightly lower than calorie expenditure. With persistence, you can gradually lose weight. The more you eat, the more carbohydrates, protein, and fat you will consume. If calorie intake exceeds the body's needs, or if calorie intake exceeds calorie expenditure, the excess calories will be stored as fat, leading to weight gain.
The causes of obesity are complex, including genetic factors, irregular eating habits, organ dysfunction, lack of exercise, physiological factors, pathological factors, endocrine disorders, psychological factors, and dietary factors, among which dietary factors are the most direct. Obesity is essentially caused by excess calories; and calorie intake is inseparable from food. Eating too much, overeating, frequently eating, binge eating, binge eating, eating constantly, eating in the morning and evening, eating whenever you can, eating excessively, eating endlessly... all these eating habits lead to excessive calorie intake, far exceeding calorie expenditure, naturally resulting in muscle growth and obesity.
Many people believe that obesity is caused by excessive calorie intake, but this isn't necessarily true. Besides the quantity of food consumed, the quality of the food is also crucial, as not all foods provide calories. The main sources of calories are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. If your diet contains a large amount of these three types of food, you're more likely to become obese. As the saying goes, "Even a clever cook can't cook without rice," and "Without felt or a fan, even a god can't transform," fat doesn't form spontaneously; it requires a significant amount of calories to be produced.
Whether it's congenital obesity, acquired obesity, physiological obesity, pathological obesity, endocrine disorder-related obesity, lack of exercise-related obesity, or acquired obesity, if the diet isn't excessive, there's simply no material to produce fat. Look at impoverished countries; due to severe food resource shortages, everyone is emaciated and malnourished, and it's rare to find an obese person. However, just look around in developed countries, and you'll see obese people everywhere, all because of ample food and excessive nutrition.
In the past, obesity was more common among middle-aged and elderly people. Today, the situation has changed drastically; many teenagers, and even children, are already overweight with excess fat. Therefore, to lose weight and achieve a healthy figure, regardless of age or gender, the first step is to control one's diet and avoid overnutrition. Obesity refers to the accumulation of excessive fat in the body, and fat formation is due to excessive calorie intake. Without excess calories, there are no materials to be converted into fat. Therefore, irregular eating habits and excessive nutrition are often the main causes of obesity; to lose weight, it is essential to control one's diet.