Why We Get Fat

The obesity epidemiic is not a matter of eating too much. Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It, spells it out in simple terms: “We get fat because the carbohydrates in our diet make us fat.

The science tells us that obesity is ultimately the result of a hormonal imbalance, not a caloric one—specifically, the stimulation of insulin secretions caused by eating easily digestible, carbohydrate-rich foods: refined carbohydrates, including flour and cereal grains, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and sugars, like sucrose (table sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup.

These carbohydrates literally make us fat, and by driving us to accumulate fat, they make us hungrier and they make us sedentary.”