As the saying goes, "You can't get fat in one bite," but bit by bit, you might just become overweight. The progression from weight gain to obesity often takes a long time, a change that must be based on consuming more energy than is expended. However, this surplus doesn't have to be very large.
A study by the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted across eight provinces, found that consuming just a little extra energy each day beyond the body's total daily needs—such as the equivalent of 40 grams of rice, 25 grams of dumplings (about 2 pieces), or 5 grams of cooking oil—can add up to about 1 kilogram of weight gain in a year. Over 10 or 20 years, a healthy person within a normal weight range could become obese.
Therefore, preventing excess weight starts with controlling daily food intake, beginning by eating "one or two bites less." By reducing energy intake a little each day, it is possible to control the trend of weight gain over the long term. On the other hand, people should also increase various energy-consuming activities to maintain energy balance.