Unveiling the Mystery of "Negative Energy Foods": Examining the Fundamental Relationship Between Diet and Obesity from an Energy Balance Perspective

Weight loss is a perennial topic for people of all ages, especially women. People try various weight loss methods, including so-called "diet foods." But do "diet foods" really exist? Actually, there are no "diet foods" or "negative-energy foods" that make you thinner the more you eat! In fact, whether or not someone is obese, or whether or not they are conducive to weight loss, cannot be solved by a single food, nor can the blame be placed on any one food. People eat a lot of food every day, and every food contains "energy," which is commonly referred to as "calories" or "energy."

These factors combined constitute the total daily energy intake. If you consume more energy than you expend, your body will store the excess energy as fat, leading to obesity. However, some foods are high in energy and/or easily digested and absorbed, increasing the risk of weight gain if consumed in excess. Examples include butter, fatty beef, pork, lamb, nuts such as sunflower seeds, peanuts, walnuts, and pistachios, as well as cakes, sweet breads, and biscuits. Other foods are low in energy, require thorough chewing, and are not easily digested and absorbed; therefore, even if consumed in larger quantities, the risk of weight gain is relatively low.

Examples include seaweed, mushrooms, leafy greens, and celery. Protein is to the human body what bricks are to a house; it forms the framework and primary substance of human tissues and organs, and is the most important raw material for building and repairing tissues. Protein plays a vital role in human life activities; without protein, human life cannot exist. Adults need more than 40 grams of protein daily to maintain nitrogen balance; those engaged in strenuous physical activity need to increase their protein intake. The basic building blocks of protein are amino acids, and of the more than twenty amino acids in the human body, eight are essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize.

Protein must be obtained from a variety of foods, including leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. A lack of protein can lead to a decreased metabolic rate and weakened immunity, negatively impacting health; a lower basal metabolic rate also makes it easier for fat to accumulate. For those trying to lose weight, adequate protein intake can help boost metabolism, causing the body to burn an extra 150-200 calories per day. This is because ingested protein must be broken down into amino acids before it can be absorbed and synthesized into the proteins the body needs, which requires energy.

In addition, protein deficiency can lead to anemia, menstrual disorders in women, reduced milk production during lactation, gradual weight loss, increased susceptibility to illness, decreased physical condition and weight, apathy, irritability, anemia, emaciation or edema, and secondary diseases due to increased susceptibility to infection. Fat is both an important component of human tissue and one of the main sources of energy. Fat primarily refers to triglycerides composed of fatty acids and glycerol, which are widely distributed throughout the human body, mainly in subcutaneous tissue, the greater omentum, the mesentery, and around the kidneys. Almost all foods, whether plant-based or animal-based, contain varying amounts of fat.