Energy balance

Excluding physiologically implausible energy intake reports (where reported intake is <78% or >122% of predicted energy requirement) from dietary datasets reveals strong, biologically plausible positive associations between energy intake and BMI, whereas including these reports yields weak or spurious associations.

If you are analyzing diet and weight data, do not trust raw self-reported intake numbers. They are often inaccurate, especially for heavier individuals. You must filter out reports that are physiologically impossible (e.g., claiming to eat very little while having a high metabolic need) to see the true relationship between what people eat and their body weight. Without this filter, you might incorrectly conclude that obese people eat less than thin people.