A Calorie is a Calorie

(Paperback)

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The world is rapidly getting fatter - and public health advice has been remarkably ineffective. No surprise, then, that many people, specialists included, are questioning our understanding of the forces that shape body weight. We all know someone who seems to eat very little yet cannot avoid weight gain or, conversely, someone who eats everything they like while remaining slim. Why Is it the kinds of food we eat, and when Are our hormones to blame Could it be chemicals in our environment

In this book, Keith Frayn, one of the world's leading experts on metabolism, argues that all these challenges are distracting us from tackling the obesity problem in the only way it can be addressed: by rebalancing the disregarded message of 'calories in - calories out'.

Taking readers on a deep dive into the real science of energy balance, he reveals how nutrition research has been plagued by the difficulty of really knowing what people are eating and doing; why it is unlikely that some nutrients are intrinsically more fattening than others; how supposed differences between people in the speed of their metabolism vanish in the laboratory; how energy balance is altered in obese people and people who have managed to lose weight; and why these responses - honed over millennia of evolution - make dieting so hard.

Along the way we discover the real science of how our bodies process our food. In particular, Frayn provides a clear-eyed perspective on current trends mired in controversy and confusion: time-restricted eating, intermittent fasting, low-carb versus low-fat meal plans, high-protein breakfasts and other dietary trickery - these are, we learn, just ways of altering energy intake; they do not change the law of energy balance.

In a world where desirable, energy-rich food is increasingly plentiful, and labour-saving gadgets widespread, it becomes more and more difficult to stick to the simple message of energy balance. But, as Frayn shows, we can reshape our lives and improve our health by going back to what we know about calories, and rediscovering the benefits of (easily) reclaiming a more active life.

Author Bio

Keith Frayn is Emeritus Professor of Human Metabolism at the University of Oxford. He has spent his career studying human metabolism and nutrition in different conditions, from injured patients arriving in accident and emergency, through studies of exercise and recreational hill-walking, to people with diabetes, obesity and lipid disorders. His current research is focused on the pathways by which we lay down and mobilise our fat stores. He has published more than 300 scientific articles as well as two books on human metabolism - an influential textbook and a concise primer for general readers. He is often consulted by the media and public for comments and advice on aspects of metabolism, particularly diet and body weight, and his work and views are often mentioned in Twitter threads and online discussion forums.