Why we get fat
Last year I interviewed Gary Taubes at the ASBP conference in Seattle. The subject is “Why we get fat, and what to do about it” – the title of his brand new book.
I am a big fan of Taubes although I don’t agree with everything he says. For example Taubes’ argument (repeated recently on the dr Oz show) that exercise plays absolutely no role in weight loss.
As anybody who has seen The Biggest Loser knows, that is not quite true.
Even more reasonable amounts of exercise burns glycogen and improves tolerance to carbohydrates, making it easier to keep insulin levels low. That is a nice bonus for losing weight, even if exercise mostly has other positive effects.
While I love the genius of Taubes I think his take on exercise and weight loss is slightly too extreme. It is also massively unstrategic, as it antagonizes fitness oriented people for no good reason.
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PS: This year the ASBP conference is in Baltimore. I will be there April 8-10 and report on this blog.