Turns out, sitting around might not be the obesity villain we’ve been led to believe.
A groundbreaking new study published in PNAS challenges the long-held belief that sedentary lifestyles are the main driver of obesity in developed nations. Researchers analyzed the energy expenditure of more than 4,200 people from 34 countries, comparing office workers in the U.S. to physically active farmers, herders, and hunter-gatherers in less industrialized nations.
Surprisingly, they found that people burned roughly the same number of calories, regardless of their level of activity.
So what’s behind the global obesity epidemic? The real culprit: food.
Lead researcher Herman Pontzer says the findings reveal that what we eat plays a far bigger role in obesity than how much we move. The study estimates that increased calorie intake has been ten times more responsible for rising obesity rates than decreased physical activity.
This research overturns the notion that simply exercising more will lead to weight loss. As Pontzer puts it, you can’t outrun a bad diet.
Nutrition experts like Barry Popkin and Dariush Mozaffarian agree, pointing to industrialized food systems and ultra-processed diets as the key drivers of modern obesity. Mozaffarian summed it up bluntly: “Changes to our food, not our activity, are the dominant drivers of obesity.”
That said, exercise remains essential for maintaining heart health, enhancing mental clarity, and promoting overall longevity. But when it comes to waistlines, diet is king.
Bottom line: Being a couch potato is never a good idea, but the real danger lies in what’s on your plate, not how long you spend on the couch.
