No, that's not the case. In fact, it could be said that most fat people eat even less than their thin counterparts. Although surprising, numerous experimental studies have yielded almost identical conclusions. We provide you here with a rough overview: But you will surely ask, why are they still obese? Why can't they lose weight by eating less? Some diet and nutrition experts have put forward a peculiar explanation. To prevent their theory from being untenable, they have also introduced the concept of "under-reporting." They argue that fat people actually eat more, but they are concerned with face-saving, deliberately concealing or under-reporting their intake; while thin people have no such scruples and can therefore cooperate seriously with the survey, detailing what and how much they have eaten, so the calculated calorie values are relatively more accurate. This explanation might be possible for a few individuals, but in the experiments mentioned above, it is hardly convincing to say that so many fat people "appear" to eat less merely because of face-saving issues. Biochemical research on metabolism, on the other hand, offers another explanation, which seems more credible.
This explanation emphasizes that this phenomenon involves the basic principle of "food utilization and absorption." The minimum daily calorie requirement for the human body, that is, the heat needed to maintain our basic survival state, is called the basal metabolic rate. The basal metabolic rate is not a fixed value; it varies from person to person and often fluctuates within a wide range—sounding somewhat like shoe sizes. There are some popular sayings about "strong" or "weak" food utilization abilities, such as, "Some people can eat whatever they want without getting fat, while others gain weight even from drinking water." This refers to the fact that different people have different food utilization abilities, which is actually because their basal metabolic rates are different.
In this view of food utilization and absorption, genetic material plays an important role. In some other regions on Earth, many people are destined to be obese from birth. This is the case on some islands in the South Pacific. Those places frequently experienced famines in the past. At that time, anyone who possessed an exceptional "food utilization" ability—that is, the ability to survive difficult periods on very little food, even just a bowl of water—meant they had the greatest chance of survival. Later, it was understood that in natural selection, the "survival of the fittest" principle meant that survivors passed on genes with a "strong food absorption" ability. However, the price of acquiring this once life-or-death "strong survival ability" gene is a predisposition to diabetes in the future when food is abundant. And indeed, on these islands, nearly 60% of the population suffers from diabetes. Furthermore, it is this very gene, which troubles modern people, that also causes gestational diabetes, well-known in Germany. No wonder obesity and diabetes are often linked, as they are likely caused by the same thing—genes.
However, it's not just genes that have an impact; the diet during pregnancy is also crucial. While the baby is still in the womb, its future food consumption and weight status have been adjusted and determined. If a mother diets during pregnancy, it will lead to the child being obese after birth. From a biological perspective, it is clear that a scarce food supply before birth is the cause of future obesity, because the developing fetus not only has to find a way to "scrimp and save" to get through the immediate hardship but also prepare for future famine periods, thus lowering the basal metabolic rate before birth. Truly, "a poor child grows up fast!"
There is another possible cause of obesity: hormonal regulation. Because hormones, as biological agents, can promote the body's absorption and utilization of food. In animal husbandry, people use this experience to feed livestock sex hormones. Due to improved food utilization and absorption, production indeed increased by 10%. Many women have also learned from experience that taking birth control pills usually increases weight by about 1 kilogram.
The most common cause of weight gain, surprisingly, is dieting and exercise! Most young women who take appetite-suppressing drugs and laxatives end up gaining weight. Now, if you think about it, if the basal metabolic rate is lowered while the absorption and utilization of nutrients is increased, it's no wonder the weight rebounds. Isn't that right? Constant dieting gradually lowers the basal metabolic rate and increases the absorption and utilization of nutrients.
Obviously, the metabolism reacts to each successive reduction in food intake, making full use of every gram of food and strengthening nutrient absorption. Moreover, since most obese people have undergone countless cycles of weight loss, dieting, and exercise, their basal metabolic rates have spiraled downward. Consequently, their bodies need only a small amount of nutrition to meet basic energy needs. As for the nutrients that are more fully absorbed than normal due to enhanced absorption capacity, they can only be stored and slowly converted into excess fat!