Hormonal
High-glycemic load carbohydrates drive obesity through calorie-independent hormonal mechanisms (specifically insulin-mediated fat storage and reduced energy expenditure) rather than solely through excess caloric intake.
Focus on reducing the glycemic load of your diet by minimizing refined carbohydrates, sugars, and processed grains. This approach addresses the hormonal drivers of fat storage (insulin) and energy partitioning, rather than relying solely on calorie restriction which may trigger metabolic slowdown and hunger.
The CIM proposes that a high-glycemic load (GL) diet...elicits hormonal responses that inhibit fat mobilization (lipolysis) and promote fat deposition in adipose tissue...shifting substrate partitioning toward deposition, leaving less energy available for metabolically active tissue...The brain responds to this metabolic state by activating pathways controlling hunger...Thus, the CIM offers an explanation for the poor efficacy of calorie-restricted diets beyond lack of adherence due to hedonic and reward influences.
Why this rating
The paper cites animal studies and metabolic ward trials as supportive but acknowledges human long-term data is limited and methodologically challenging.
Source
Competing paradigms of obesity pathogenesis: energy balance versus carbohydrate-insulin models
David S. Ludwig et al. · European Journal of Clinical Nutrition · 2022
DOI 10.1038/s41430-022-01179-2
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