wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Continued to exercise; reduced sugars and starchy carbs; lost 10 pounds. End of story.

Two issues addressed here:
1) whether a calorie is a calorie regardless of its source.
2) What purpose, if any, does exercise serve in weight loss.

1) IF the calorie is sitting on a lab bench,
thermodynamically speaking, a calorie is a calorie, whether from protein or carb. HOWEVER, when the protein or carb in placed into the cauldron of the human body, other effects besides calories must be taken into account. Carbs release insulin. Proteins do not. Insulin is the key that turns a calorie into adipose tissue (i.e., fat).

2) Aerobic exercise will burn calories only minimally.
Weight training will increase your muscle mass and increase the burning of calories in any type of physical activity.

Personally, I have alot of issues with this book and they are NOT with the author. They are with the "experts" that let their egos and politics get in the way of admiting to the public what is a real healthy diet. This is personal for all of us - don't we all have members in our family, if not ourselves, who have heart disease or cancer or struggle with diabeties or obesity? I'm mad at the loss of so many lives because of this bad science and egos. I'm mad at this generation of kids growing up obese and it is NOT the fault of fast food chains, IMHO, it's the fault of those our nation trusted to tell us what we should eat.

If you are an MD, then I think you have a responsiblity to read the book. There are full references to each study, so you don't have to take any leaps of faith to understand it. At least understand what the book says before you start saying it's not true.

I've read the book and encourage everyone, especially those who think they can argue with him, to read it too. You will discover that your arguments are totally covered with more studies than I bet you can come up with.

I wish that he could better summarize the information when he's interviewed, so that those who haven't read it would realize that he's not some quack, he's a very talented reporter, without a "cause" and his book has some really startling information that goes beyond the calories vs. carbs debate.

For example, there is a chapter about cancer and Alzeheimer's which also seem to be closely linked with the increased intake of refined carbs.

I have no doubt that I could give up the gym if I gave up all refined carbs. The problem? I don't wanna. I keep refined carbs to a minimum but really cannot contemplate spending the rest of my life consuming little or no bread, wine, dessert, etc. For those of us who don't enjoy red meat or won't eat it for ethical/environmental reasons, low carb diets are a snooze. It's the same old veggies/grilled chicken drill.

Exercise may be a wash in terms of calories--I find I am hungrier after a workout--but muscle tone is nice. I do think people emphasize aerobics at the expense of strength-building workouts; muscle burns more calorie than fat so lifting weights or doing Pilates can be quite useful for staying lean.

ALL he was saying was...............yes you burn calories but if your fat burning hormone regulator is off you can burn them from today till forever, and youre still going to STORE fat because the holes in your fat net are smaller than others........................How come no one was smart enough to get it?

Need to distinguish 2 different issues: Taubes & Kolata are talking about adults who are ALREADY overweight. This is different then the real epidemic which is how many more of us are overweight, over the past 40 yrs. It is not genetics (we have not evolved). It is change in diet and exercise. How from prenatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood there is an increase in the % of population that is overweight. This is true within any sub-group, by age, race, ethnicity, and across the developed world. The reason is overproduction of calories (too much), worse calories (glycemic index, bad fats, corn syrup-Earl Butz, Bob Dole & ADM) & less physical activity (driving everywhere, suburbia without sidewalks, TV). And it is the marketing of "Food." U.S. food industry produces 3,900 calories/person/day, which is 2x what we need. These companies not only need to push this food on us to buy in one form or another. They not only need to make profits, but they need to report an increase in growth in their profits every 90 days (Wall Street pressure to report corporate growth quarterly). The debate over what combination of diet and exercise does or does not work, ONCE ONE IS ALREADY overweight or fat and in your late 20s onward, misses the real epidemic. It dishonestly shifts the debate from the corporate/political/social choice level, to the individual failure or futility level. See: Nestle-Food Politics; Crister-Fatland; Lang-Food Wars; Brownell-Food Fight, etc.

I felt compelled to write in to follow-up my phone call from Central Park. btw, I'm having a bowl of oatmeal and some fruit-I'm not overindulging.
I usually run before work and have a small breakfast before and another small one when I return. No huge post work-out appetite.

I started running years ago to get into shape. That was 25 years and pounds ago. While no one will confuse me with a swimsuit model, I'm relatively thin and can't imagine having maintaining my weight loss without working out.
Coincidentally, I'm a facebook friend of the show and my pictures on my profile pages were taken at road races!

Fool-proof weight loss (worked for me and everyone I know who has dieted successfully)- avoid carbs (but I eat all vegetables - complex carbs ok)and eat a high protein diet(I eat tofu, but any lean protein is really good), with or without exercise.

Honestly, the right way to do this depends on you...and whether you actually want to pursue it or not. But I do agree with the last point, that sugar is the main problem. (That's an obvious point, but none of the food producers here seem to care...)

I'm trying to call in, lines full!

I could debate this guest for hours on the studies which refute his interpretations of the data.

I am a huge Marus Samuelsson fan and have eaten many meals at Aquavit. I've eagerly awaited theopening of his new restaurant. Is Merkato 55 actually open? If not when will it be?

My masters is in exercise physiology.

With a "dual specialty" (dietetics and exercise), I believe physical activity represents 50% of the weight equation.

i was fascinated by the previous discussion on genetics, disappointed your discussion stopped and did not read my comment on "Nutri-genomics". I think it will be a great tool to get people's attention and take pre-emptive action for health promotion and disease management. So many implications for nutrition, diet and lifestyle modification.