This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Fast. Feast. Repeat." by Gin Stephens. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Why are so many people overweight in developed countries? What is the main cause of weight gain?
There are many factors that cause weight gain: genetics, disease, overeating, and a sedentary lifestyle. However, the main cause of weight gain in modern times is the habit of constant eating. Most people eat three meals a day with several snacks in between. Constant feeding causes constantly elevated insulin levels, and insulin is a fat-storage hormone.
Here’s how modern eating habits contribute to weight gain.
Modern Eating Habits Cause Weight Problems
What is the main cause of weight gain? According to Gin Stephens, the author of Fast. Feast. Repeat., the modern habit of eating continually causes high blood glucose levels—that is, the body never gets a break from converting food into glucose. This leads to chronically high insulin levels, since insulin releases to store all that glucose. Since we’re never out of glucose or glycogen, the body can’t access its fat stores, burn them, and lose weight.
(Shortform note: In The Obesity Code, Jason Fung argues along these lines in more detail. Continuing the “wallet and bank” metaphor, he argues that, as with money, we prefer to use our wallets (glycogen)—and when we deplete them, we’d rather fill them back up than get money from the bank (fat stores). By eating without long breaks, you prevent your body from accessing fat stores, and at the same time you keep your insulin levels high, which promotes increased storage of glucose as fat. In Fung’s view, this leads to obesity.)
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Here's what you'll find in our full Fast. Feast. Repeat. summary :
- How intermittent fasting can help you lose weight, feel better, fight disease, and live longer
- An explanation of the cutting-edge science that supports fasting
- How to follow a four-week quickstart program to adapt to this new lifestyle
