I don't understand how this quote from Taubes proves anything. If I stop eating, I will lose weight and eventually die. Also, if I eat more, I will gain weight. Thus calories must have SOMETHING to do with weight, right? I think Taubes is fighting a straw man here: I haven't heard anyone argue that eaten calories are stored in 1:1 ratio. But they have some causal relationship.
Sure, if you stop eating you will lose some weight and die. But, you can die of starvation while obese. In animal studies, it is possible to reduce calories and the animals won't lose weight or to add a lot of extra calories and not become obese.
Calories have something to do with it because they are one part of the equation. Calories in does equal calories out. Calories In = Calories Stored + Calories Expended. But, the mistake is in thinking that the law of thermodynamics means that the type of calories in doesn't impact the ratio of calories stored/expended -- the variables are not independent. The content of the food you eat impacts: your hunger, your energy level, fat storage rates, and your metabolic rate, all of which mean that attempting to cut or add calories may not have the expected impact depending on what the food is.
BTW, could you refer to some of these animal studies that show that reducing calories does not impact the weight? I hope the animals in question are not for example ants but more like primates or something resembling humans.
Got it. I've heard that theory before but never have I seen any substantial evidence. I accept that the food I eat might have some effect on my "hunger" and "energy level". Which in turn could make me eat more or exercise less. That doesn't really have anything to do with calories per se. Many other causes have the same effect, e.g. psychological or hormonal situations. However, the real argument seems to be that what one eats impacts one's "fat storage or metabolic rates". That's hard to believe. It would be interesting to see some hard evidence to support that claim. The present study tries to give some results, but I think the sample rate is insufficient. I've seen much evidence to the contrary.
The idea that carbohydrates impact fat storage through insulin is one of the main arguments put forward by Taubes in his book, and he provides a lot of evidence and studies to back up his assertion. He may be wrong (and he somewhat acknowledges this and calls for proper studies to be done), but it's worth reading if you want to understand what the argument is.
If you read the whole article, Taubes isn't saying that there is not a link between calorie intake and weight-gain - what he is saying is that it's not "causal" in any useful sense. Why exactly overweight people consume more calories is still a mystery and it's a gross oversimplification to discuss the law of thermodynamics when considering "why someone is overweight".
I haven't heard anyone but Mr. Taubes "discussing the law of thermodynamics". For me, there is zero mystery why obese people are fat. They have eaten and continue eating more (calories) than other people. And they will get less obese if they eat less. What exactly is the mystery here?
