Biomechanics and Health

Misconception about Counting Calories and Weight Management

 (First time published in 2005 – Last time edited in 2010)

The “counting calories” as a scientific method to understand and control the weight of the body was introduced at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century and quickly was accepted as an unquestionable scientific truth by the medical establishment and the rest of population.

First, there is nothing wrong with the method used to determine the number of calories in food. In reality, the calories are just a measurement of the heat produced when the food is burned in laboratories to dry powder ashes.

In living organisms, this kind of process (burning) never happens, because the metabolic waste isn’t dry powder ashes and on the other side some energy leave the body before is fully metabolised and some energy leave the body after is metabolised. “The counting calories” is a wrong method to determine how many calories will be fully metabolised.

For example; an intake of 3500kcl does not mean that there is 3500kcl involved. The human body will take only a number of calories that it needs and the rest will be discarded and excreted as a metabolic waste.

The difference between the energy intakes and the energy discarded and excreted as metabolic waste is the amount of energy that is fully metabolised.

Even if we know how much energy is fully metabolised, we still can’t predict the exceeded number of calories that the body will use because some absorbed calories (metabolized food) body excrete through the skin and hair.

One sort of energy what the body excrete is energy what the body does not convert but excretes mainly through the digestive and urinary system (faecal energy) and another sort is the energy what the body first metabolises and later excrete as metabolic waste through skin and hair, (for example some people have more greasy skin and/or more greasy hair than another).

The present scientific understanding saying states that if we intake more energy the body needs for basal metabolic rate plus energy spend through physical activity, the exceeded number of calories will be converted in fat mass and stored in the fat tissues for later use.

The fact is that some available energy in the food the body simply does not use but discards and excrete it as metabolic waste (mainly through the digestive and urinary systems).

Further more, the accepted dogma that weight gain of the fat mass is “simply mater of balance” between the calories intake and the calories burn out is supported by wrongly applying the Laws of Thermodynamics in the understanding of what is happening with the energy in a living organism.

In practical term it is possible to apply the Laws of Thermodynamics (First and Second) only in a close system where no energy coming in and no energy going out (all energy that coming in and out is measurable). That is the case with any mechanical engine. In the case of the human body, some energy is going out (the energy that practically isn’t possible to measure).

This fact alone shows that it is pointless to apply the Law of Thermodynamics to explain the occurrences of the weight gain/weight loss in humans or any other species. Applying the law of thermodynamics on humans doesn’t explain anything concerning the weight gain/weight loss.

Introducing the counting calories as a method to understand weight gain/weight loss has the consequence that many people ranging from scientist involved in research and treatment of obesity to simple people thinks that metabolic waste is calories free. Because of that, it is accepted as an unquestionable scientific fact that the increase of the food intake and/or decrease of physical activity is responsible for weight gain and that the decrease of food intake and/or the increase of physical activity are responsible for weight loss.

The entire science of obesity and the entire weight loss industry (diet and/or exercise, medications, WLS) is based on such a misconception with grave consequences for so many people.

This misconception is greatly responsible for an increase in obesity, especially in the last twenty-five years because without really understanding the biological basis of fat formation on the body, the human is not able to counteract the obesity and is not able to discover the real cause for nowadays epidemical proportion incidence of obesity and the severity of obesity.

How that happened, that already one century long, “counting calories” is accepted as a scientific way of understanding the fat formation on the body and at the same time accepted as basic for any intervention in regulation of the weight of the body, it’s beyond rational explanation.

From such understanding came the theory of the cause for building fat tissues and it says; “unused calories intake body storage as fat tissues for late use”.

To support the theory of building fat tissues already accepted as unquestionable scientific fact, it come the theory that because of genetic factors “different body’s burn energy at different speed”. To support the theory based on genetics (different body burn energy at different speed) came “hunter/gathered gene” theory and many another theories.

The each new theory of fat formation on the body and the cause of obesity is made up to support the credibility of already existing ones.

Every new theory about the cause of obesity is hailed as scientific break-through and quickly accepted as an unquestionable scientific fact.............followed by the increase of obesity in all population groups.

P. S.
Nowadays, the scientists involved in the research of obesity are using a number of tools (“highly precise instruments”) to assess energy expenditure in humans. The most common approach to calculate energy expenditure in humans is to quantify rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production (indirect calorimetry)..... In the end the all this “scientific” work using this “highly precise instruments” to assess energy expenditure in the humans are pointless because the basic science of obesity is based on an embarrassing misconception…. On one hand, their founder didn’t know that significant amount of energy in food intake will leave human’s body as metabolic waste, and on the other hand, the basic science of fat formation and the mechanism underlining fat distribution is wrong.

The majority of people are impressed with the Science of Genetics and they easily accept  the theory that obesity is in smaller or greater extent genetically determined and that the fat distribution on the body is genetically predetermined........? Any discussion about scientific validity of theories about genetic predisposition of the fat formation and the fat distribution on the body and the cause of obesity is pointless, because the founders of “genetics’ theories of obesity” and “genetics’ theories of fat distribution” didn’t know that significant amount of energy in food intake will leave human’s body as metabolic waste, and on the other hand, the basic science of fat formation is wrong.

Any recommendations from the medical establishment and from self-appointed health-obesity expert’s about treatment and/or prevention of obesity is dangerous for human health because on one hand their understanding of the cause of obesity is based on the misunderstanding of the fat formation and fat distribution on the body and on the other hand they didn’t know that significant amount of energy in food intake live body as a metabolic waste.

On one hand, any known program based on diet or exercise or diet and exercise combined is based on the false knowledge about fat formation on the body and on the other hand, their founders didn’t know that significant amount of energy in food intake will leave human’s body as a metabolic waste.

Any known pharmaceutical invention for weight control is based on the belief that the body unused amount of energy in food intake converts in fat mass and storages in fat tissues. The fact that significant percentage of energy in food intake will leave human’s body as a metabolic waste shows that any pharmaceutical invention for weight management is pointless and highly risky for the health. 

Any known surgical program (weight loss surgeries) that nowadays is accepted as the reasonable way to treat obesity is the medical practice based on misunderstanding.