Research
Energy balance
Highly processed, palatable, and cheap foods (high in sugar, fat, salt, and flavor additives) trigger overconsumption of calories by shifting eating behaviors from home cooking to snacking and large-portion meals.
Prioritize whole, unprocessed foods over highly processed options. Be aware that processed foods with added sugar, fat, and salt are engineered to promote overconsumption, making portion control difficult.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
He hypothesizes that the changes in the quantity and quality of the food supply in conjunction with a drastic increase in the consumption of highly processed, palatable, and cheap food (with high amounts of sugar, fat, salt, and flavor additives) have triggered overconsumption of calories.
Why this rating
Based on a perspective/review by Hall, cited within an editorial.
Source
Three New Perspectives on the Perfect Storm: What's Behind the Obesity Epidemic?
Éric Ravussin et al. · Obesity · 2017
DOI 10.1002/oby.22085
narrative_reviewCited 40×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- The obesity epidemic is primarily driven by an obesogenic environment—specifically the increased availability of highly processed, calorie-dense foods and reduced occupational physical activity—acting on genetically susceptible individuals, rather than by genetics alone.Moderate
- The reduction in occupational physical activity, rather than a lack of formal exercise, is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic, creating a zone of low energy expenditure where intake becomes uncoupled from expenditure.Moderate
- Secondary environmental factors—including poor sleep hygiene, decreased cigarette smoking, increased atmospheric CO2, thermoneutrality, screen time, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, medications, and an unhealthy microbiome—contribute to the obesity epidemic by tipping the energy balance equation.Moderate
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