Tag: obesity

Is Exercise Really the Issue?

Dr. John Poothullil

Reading Time: 4 minutesWe are told again and again that obesity exists because we do not exercise enough. Move more, burn more calories, and the problem will disappear. It sounds logical—but it does not match what we see in real life. People exercise more than ever. Gyms, fitness apps, smart watches, workout videos, and step counters are everywhere. Many people work out faithfully several times a week. And yet obesity keeps rising. For example, obesity peaked among middle-aged adults (40–59), with a 46.4% prevalence in 2021–2023, higher than older (60+) groups. If lack…

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The Hidden Culprit Behind Global Weight Gain

Dr. John Poothullil

Reading Time: 3 minutesIf our brains are biologically equipped to manage nutrient intake, why are obesity rates soaring? To answer this, let’s travel back to the 1960s—the true starting point of modern weight gain. This was when the Agricultural Revolution enabled mass production of grains like wheat, corn, rice, and oats. Hybridization, fertilizers, and machinery made grains cheap and abundant. Suddenly, grains were everywhere: in cereals, breads, snacks, pastas, and desserts. Grains are extremely carbohydrate-dense. When digested, they break down into glucose. If that glucose isn’t used quickly, your body stores it as…

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Dr. John Explains Hunger and “Eating Like A Toddler”

Dr. John Poothullil

Reading Time: 4 minutesTo understand hunger, you don’t need to look any further than the mechanism by which babies regulate their consumption of milk, or toddlers regulate their consumption of food. If you think about it, both infants and toddlers decide on their own when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat to thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally. When you were an infant and then a toddler, this is what you did. So today, to lose weight, you need to alter your eating habits, so you can eat as you…

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