Global obesity doubled between 1980 and 2008. Over half a billion people are obese, and obesity now costs more than many nations earn. About 20% of normal-weight people also show metabolic syndrome, so excess weight is not the only driver.
Twenty percent of changes give 80% of the benefit. Pick one or two, starting with added sugar, then try intermittent fasting. Added sugar supplies about 15% of calories in a Western diet, so removing it delivers much of the weight loss many people want.
Fewer than 20% keep weight off for a year and only 8% after seven years. Hormones shift after weight loss, so you may need about 200 fewer calories a day. One study found fast losers were five times as likely to reach a 10% loss at 18 months as slow losers.
Short bursts of hard effort can match three to five hours of weekly endurance training for key health markers, in under a third of the time. The author tried it and found it hard. Motivation remains the real obstacle.
The author says exercise does little for long-term weight loss but is vital for health, mood and memory. Health bodies disagree. Fix your diet first, move slowly most of the time, and do not sit for more than 30 minutes at a stretch.
Butter is milk, cream and sometimes salt. Margarine is a long list of processed ingredients made by hydrogenating plant oils. Studies link margarine and polyunsaturated oils to childhood allergies. The author says choose butter and avoid margarine in pregnancy and early childhood.
Seed oils such as canola, sunflower and soybean push the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio from about 1:2 to 1:16. The author says avoid them and use butter, olive or coconut oil. Heart bodies and some reviews disagree. Both sides are set out here.
Fats are triglycerides: glycerol plus three fatty acids. Fatty acids are saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, and only two are essential. You probably eat enough omega-3 and omega-6 without supplements, and the omega myths are overstated.
The 5:2 diet cuts calories to 25% (about 600) on two non-consecutive days a week. It has good compliance and may help weight, blood pressure and IGF-1. Brain and longevity claims rest mostly on animal studies and remain unproven in humans.
The “eight glasses a day” rule has little science behind it. You get water from food, tea and coffee. But water in place of sugary drinks helps: water drinkers eat 194 fewer calories a day. Skip sweetened mixers and enjoy spirits on the rocks.
