Research
Energy balance
Human body weight regulation is asymmetrical: the system strongly defends against weight loss (negative energy balance) but tolerates positive energy balance, leading to obesity in obesogenic environments.
Understand that your body is biologically wired to defend against weight loss but not against weight gain. This is not a failure of willpower but a feature of human physiology. Focus on structuring your environment to reduce high-energy-dense food availability rather than relying solely on internal self-control mechanisms.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
In general, humans display a system of weight regulation that is asymmetrical—a reduction in body weight is strongly defended but weight gain is not. The body seems to tolerate a positive energy balance.
Why this rating
The paper is a comprehensive review synthesizing multiple studies on physiology and behavior, though it lacks a single primary clinical trial.
Source
Control of Food Intake in the Obese
John E. Blundell et al. · Obesity Research · 2001
DOI 10.1038/oby.2001.129
narrative_reviewCited 249×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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