The study finds that weight gain is due primarily to overeating, rather than a lack of movement.
A new study, co-led by Amanda McGrosky, an assistant professor of biology at Elon University, has been featured in news outlets around the world.
The study aims to answer the question: Are people in the developed world obese because they eat too much or because they sit too much? It analyzed the daily calorie burn, body fat percentage and BMI of more than 4,000 adults from diverse backgrounds, ranging from hunter-gatherers to office workers.
“There weren’t really any differences in total energy expenditure across these populations,” McGrosky told WFDD. “So, someone who lives in a hunter-gather society who has 40 kilograms of lean body mass is going to expend the same energy as someone who lives in the U.S. and also has 40 kilograms of lean body mass.”
McGrosky says the obesity epidemic comes down to people consuming more calories than they are burning.
McGrosky’s research has been featured in WFDD, Fox News, Men’s Journal, Latinus and Daiji World, among others.