[SPEAKER_00]: This is a news.com newsflash. [SPEAKER_01]: Obesity remains a significant public health concern across the United States and other economically developed countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. [SPEAKER_01]: While exercise is often emphasized as a solution, new findings suggest it may not be the primary factor behind rising obesity rates.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a mix of four diet, high stress levels, lack of muscle and lack of frequent movement, Lindsey Allen, a registered dietitian nutritionist, explained to Fox News Digital. [SPEAKER_01]: Although overeating and lack of physical activity are both commonly cited, new research points to one of these factors is having a much greater impact. [SPEAKER_01]: A team of scientists examined more than four thousand adults from thirty four populations.
[SPEAKER_01]: Researchers measured each participants total energy expenditure, body fat percentage and body mass index to better understand the link between energy use and weight gain. [SPEAKER_01]: The differences in body fat that we see across populations likely aren't due to major differences in activity level or total daily energy burn. [SPEAKER_01]: Study authors Amanda Madroski and Amy Luke told Fox News Digi.
[SPEAKER_01]: Rather, excess body fat is likely primarily the product of too many calories in, or eating more calories than our burn. [SPEAKER_01]: Notably, individuals in wealthier, industrialized countries burn more calories, but researchers say this was largely due to higher body mass. [SPEAKER_01]: Since heavier individuals naturally use more energy, the increased calorie burn didn't translate to lower obesity rates.
[SPEAKER_01]: Published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study concludes that food intake plays a much more significant role in weight gain than physical activity. [SPEAKER_01]: Our analysis suggests that increased energy intake has been roughly ten times more important than declining activity rates in driving the modern obesity crisis, the author's statement.
[SPEAKER_01]: In light of the findings, experts say the focus should shift to diet, particularly the consumption of ultra-processed foods, as the primary target in preventing obesity. [SPEAKER_01]: If you're worried about excess body fat, focus on calories in, macroscopy and looks suggested. [SPEAKER_01]: Especially over the long term, it's much harder to meaningfully change the total number of calories you burn than it is to change the number of calories you take in.
[SPEAKER_01]: echoing the study's conclusions, Dr. Brett Osport, a Florida-based neurosurgeon, emphasized that the issue isn't lack of movement. [SPEAKER_01]: It's the constant stream of ultra-processed, nutrient-boiled products being shoveled into mouths under the guise of health or convenience, be elaborate. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's killing us, slowly, predictably and on mass. [SPEAKER_00]: Now it's snowing, unfiltered.