Overweight High calorie intake is to blame, rather than lack of exercise

A new analysis shows: What we eat plays a much bigger role in terms of obesity than how much we exercise. Scientists are focusing on one type of food in particular.

DPA

15.07.2025, 05:21

15.07.2025, 06:43

dpa

Many industrialized countries have a problem with obesity - and according to a study, this could have a lot to do with the high calorie intake of many people. This is the conclusion reached by a team from Duke University in Durham, USA, in an overview study published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences".

It is clear that people become overweight when they consume more calories than they need, the authors write. Until now, however, it had been unclear whether so many people were overweight because they consumed too many calories or converted too little energy, i.e. did not move enough.

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The study comes to a clear conclusion: increased energy intake plays around ten times as important a role in the obesity crisis as energy consumption.

Higher BMI in industrialized countries

The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing data on the body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and energy consumption of 4,213 people from 34 population groups on six continents. The team included very different groups with very different lifestyles, including hunter-gatherers, farmers and people from industrialized countries.

Unsurprisingly, there was a correlation between living in economically highly developed countries and a higher BMI and body fat percentage - although energy consumption was also higher in these groups. This shows that the widespread obesity in industrialized countries cannot be explained by the fact that people there simply do not get enough exercise.

Focus on highly processed foods

The research team is much more suspicious of highly processed foods, which are particularly widespread in industrialized countries. These include sausages, sweets and ready meals. According to the study, a higher percentage of body fat was found where such foods are widespread. This could be due to the fact that the widespread availability and low cost of these foods encourage excessive consumption.

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Although the authors did not have detailed information on the dietary habits of the groups studied, they nevertheless suggest that diet appears to play an important role in industrialized countries. The findings are an important basis of information from which to draw conclusions, for example with regard to health policy.

Many Western countries are struggling with obesity as a widespread disease: according to the German Obesity Society, around two thirds of men and a good half of women in Germany are overweight. The problem has become much worse globally in recent decades, including among children and young people. This is associated with a higher risk of illness and health problems.

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