The Obesity Code Book Summary - The Obesity Code Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

The Obesity Code summary

Name: The Obesity Code
Rating: 4.6 (450 reviews)
Author: Jason Fung

Jason Fung

Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss

4.6 (450 ratings)

22 mins

Brief summary

The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung explores the hormonal, genetic, and environmental factors that contribute to obesity, offering a scientifically backed plan for sustainable weight loss.

Topics

Weight Loss Diet

Table of Contents

The Obesity Code
Summary of 8 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Learn the true story behind obesity.

Obesity is often blamed on excessive calorie consumption. The “caloric obsession,” as Jason Fung calls it, is just one of dozens of misconceptions which we’ve had drilled into us ever since we were children. These seemingly plausible just-so stories aren’t just based on bad science; they’re also directly responsible for everything from futile yo-yo diets to the fact that the true culprits behind obesity remain undetected.

These blinks put many of these old myths to bed and get to the heart of the issue. Drawing on the latest medical research, they show that most fats are an essential part of a healthy diet and that the real driver of obesity is refined sugar and carbohydrates. Why? Well, it all comes down to the hormone which regulates so many of our bodily processes: insulin.

And it’s the workings of that hormone which Fung explores. Once we’ve got the science right we can start taking steps to protect our health and avoid obesity.

So read on to find out

what the latest evidence says about the age-old nature versus nurture debate;
why you should avoid snacking and fast between meals instead; and
what makes poorer people more prone to obesity.

Genetic factors play a larger role in obesity than social environment.

Like lots of other social problems, obesity is often framed as a nature versus nurture issue. So what’s the cause of obesity – does it come down to people’s metabolisms or their lifestyle? Well, the answer might just surprise you: the latest research suggests that social environment isn’t the primary cause of obesity.

We know that from scientific studies of environmental factors affecting children as they develop. The best way of determining how important these are is to look at adopted kids and their families. That’s just what Albert J. Stunkard did. His research on adopted children in Denmark was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1986. Why Denmark? Well, the country is pretty great at keeping accurate adoption records, which is just what Stunkard needed to compare his subject’s adoptive and biological parents.

Stunkard showed that there was no correlation whatsoever between the weight of these minors and their adoptive parents. This indicated that environmental factors had virtually no bearing on whether children became obese or not. The results of the study came as a shock. Until that point, the default assumption had been that social environment was the most important factor when it came to obesity. The argument that early exposure to junk food led to weight issues had been refuted.

That left genetic factors. Stunkard didn’t just dismiss an old theory, however. He also provided evidence for a new hypothesis. When he compared adopted kids to their biological parents, he found a strong correlation: the children of obese parents were much more likely to become obese themselves even if they’d grown up in a family in which everyone else was relatively thin. In 1991, Stunkard published a follow-up study which put a number to his claims. According to his new research, genetic factors account for approximately 70 percent of a person’s likelihood to develop obesity.

You have to look at calorie output as well as calorie intake to understand obesity.

People often intuitively believe that weight loss is all about how much you eat. Reduce your calorie intake, the thinking goes, and your weight will also decrease. Sounds pretty plausible, right? Well, there’s a problem – it’s just not true. In fact, there’s no causal relationship between calorie intake and obesity.

One of the reasons for this misconception is that there’s a correlation between greater calorie intake and higher obesity rates. According to the Mortality and Morbidity Report by Doctors J. D. Wright and J. Kennedy published in 2004, calorie consumption in the United States increased by an average of 250 calories per person per day between 1971 and 2000. But that wasn’t what was causing obesity in the country.

Reducing calorie intake reduces energy expenditure and lowers the metabolic rate.

What would happen if you suddenly reduced your calorie intake while continuing to expend the same amount of energy? Well, you’d die! That’s why your body reduces its overall energy expenditure when you eat less.

We’ve known that for a while now. Take a classic study conducted in 1919 at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, D.C. Participants were put on a strict diet and consumed between 1,400 and 2,100 calories a day – a reduction of around 30 percent compared to their usual diets. What the researchers wanted to find out was what effect this would have on their bodies.

High insulin levels are the real cause of obesity, though the exact way this works remains unclear.

Putting on weight is easy. Contrary to popular belief, the most effective way of piling on the pounds isn’t binge eating. If you really want to gain weight rapidly, all you have to do is inject yourself with a hormone which your body already produces: insulin.

And it’s insulin, or rather increased insulin levels and associated hormonal imbalances, that are the main cause of obesity. That’s something L. C. Kong showed in a 2013 study. According to Kong’s research, some 75 percent of all successful weight-loss efforts can be directly attributed to reduced insulin levels. Kong also showed that drugs which raise people’s insulin levels result in weight gains while drugs which have the opposite effect cause weight loss.

Snacking between meals leads to higher insulin levels and can cause insulin resistance.

Oprah Winfrey has had a very public battle with weight loss. After losing more than 60 pounds in 1988, she started gaining weight again. Since then, she’s experienced something familiar to anyone who’s tried out various diets at some point: an endless cycle of losing and regaining weight. So what makes dieting so hard? Well, it seems that high insulin levels are to blame. Eventually, that leads to insulin resistance. But before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at insulin itself.

Insulin is basically a hormone responsible for removing sugar from your bloodstream and depositing it in your body’s cells, thus regulating your blood sugar levels. When you eat carbohydrates and sugars, the body produces extra insulin to deal with those incoming sugars. Eating too many sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods throws that delicate mechanism out of whack.

Obesity and poverty are correlated, and that’s partially down to agricultural subsidies.

In the past, the poorest classes in society were pitied for their thinness, which was understood as a reflection of the fact that they were often malnourished. Over time, thinness came to be seen as a desirable trait. Obesity, by contrast, is now associated with poverty rather than wealth. That’s not just symbolic – there’s a strong correlation between obesity and poverty in contemporary society.

Take the Pima people, Native Americans who primarily live in southwestern American states like Arizona. Their communities are generally very poor, and around 50 percent of all adults suffer from obesity. It wasn’t always that way. According to the historical evidence available to us, it seems that the Pima were fit and healthy agriculturalists and hunters for much of the nineteenth century. Things started to go downhill for them after colonists settled on their land and disrupted their way of life.

Dietary fats aren’t unhealthy – with the notable exception of modified trans fats.

As obesity became a recognized public health issue in the second half of the twentieth century, experts and laymen alike reached a seemingly plausible conclusion: people were putting on too much weight because they were eating too much fat. There was just one problem with this theory: it was wrong.

In fact, most dietary fats aren’t unhealthy at all. Despite the widespread assumption that fats were to blame, the evidence that this isn’t the case has been around for a while now. Take a 1948 study conducted by Harvard scientists in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts.

Decreasing sugar intake reduces the risk of obesity, and coffee is not as unhealthy as you might think.

By this point, you might be wondering what all this means in terms of your diet: what should you eat, and which things are best avoided? Well, here’s the main takeaway: the problem isn’t dietary fat – it’s sugar. Cut your sugar consumption, and you’ll also dramatically decrease your risk of obesity. Let’s take a closer look at this devilishly sweet health hazard.

Sugar does a couple of things that make obesity and related issues much more likely: first off, it increases your insulin levels, and that – as we’ve seen – eventually leads to insulin resistance, above all in your liver. That’s down to the fact that sugar or sucrose contains something called fructose, a type of sugar which only the liver can absorb. When you consume too much of this substance, your liver struggles to keep up and begins transforming fructose into fat. That, in turn, increases the risk of insulin resistance and interferes with healthy digestive functions.

Want to see all full key ideas from The Obesity Code?

Key ideas in The Obesity Code

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is The Obesity Code about?

The Obesity Code (2016) addresses the alarming global rise of obesity and asks what we can do to minimize the risks to our health. The best place to start, Jason Fung argues, is to clear up common misconceptions about the causes of obesity, beginning with the old saw that all dietary fats are to blame. That means taking a closer look at the latest evidence and addressing the true culprit: insulin resistance.

The Obesity Code Review

The Obesity Code (2016) unravels the mystery behind weight gain and provides a scientific approach to weight loss. Discover why this book is essential reading:

It challenges conventional wisdom, revealing the real causes of obesity and how to address them.
The book offers a comprehensive, evidence-based plan for sustainable weight loss.
Readers gain a deeper understanding of their body's hormonal responses to food and fasting.

Unlock the secret to lasting weight loss with The Obesity Code.

Best quote from The Obesity Code

Obesity is overwhelmingly inherited.

—Jason Fung

Who should read The Obesity Code?

Anyone looking to lose weight
Doctors and nutritionists
Food producers and consumers

About the Author

Jason Fung is a kidney specialist and head of the Intensive Dietary Management program at Scarborough Hospital in Ontario, Canada. A well-known expert on type 2 diabetes and obesity, Fung is also the author of The Diabetes Code, The Longevity Solution and The Complete Guide to Fasting.

Categories with The Obesity Code

Health & Nutrition

Book summaries like The Obesity Code

The Metabolism Reset Diet

Alan Christianson

Repair your liver, stop storing fat, and lose weight naturally

Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally

Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells And Lose Weight Permanently

The Misunderstood Science of Metabolism

Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life

21 min

4.3

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

23 min

4.6

Help Me, I Have No Discipline and Zero Self-Control

Vaughn Carter

The Secret Formula to Breaking Bad Habits, Mastering Mental Toughness, and Reaching Your Goals

Discover Your Chronotype – and the Best Time to Eat Lunch, Ask for a Raise, Have Sex, Write a Novel, Take Your Meds, and More

The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss

An uncommon guide to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman

19 min

3.3

Mastering Leadership

Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams

An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results

18 min

4.3

Man’s Search for Meaning

Viktor Frankl

The harrowing experiences of the author in a concentration camp

Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

A Woman's Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones

Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe The World

The Comprehensive Guide to Delay, Don't Deny® Intermittent Fasting

17 min

4.5

Marriage Be Hard

Kevin and Melissa Fredericks

12 Conversations to Keep You Laughing, Loving, and Learning with Your Partner

9 min

3.7

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families

Stephen R. Covey

Creating Powerful & Positive Relationships Within the Family

21 min

4.5

The Stoic Path to Wealth

Darius Foroux

Ancient Wisdom for Enduring Prosperity

15 min

4.4

The Art of Clear Thinking

Hasard Lee

A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions

Discover Cultural Divide in Colonial India

The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss

22 min

4.2

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Emotional Eating

Allen Carr

Set Yourself Free from Binge-Eating and Comfort-Eating

16 min

4.1

Feel Great, Lose Weight

Rangan Chatterjee

Long term, simple habits for lasting and sustainable weight loss

20 min

4.6

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

Weston A. Price

A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets and their Effects

17 min

4.2

The 12-week Fitness Project

Rujuta Diwekar

Going Beyond Weight Loss for Better Sleep, Energy, and Bloating

The Science and Art of Overcoming Insomnia Without Medications

7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weight Loss

23 min

4.2

The Unspoken Truths for Career Success

Tessa White

What You Never Learned about Navigating Pay, Promotions and Politics in the Workplace

15 min

The Algebra of Wealth

Scott Galloway

A Simple Formula for Financial Security

17 min

3.9

Making Sense of Chaos

J Doyne Farmer

A Better Economics for a Better World

18 min

Public Opinion

Walter Lippmann

Uncover the Hidden Forces Shaping Public Perception

19 min

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

By Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

23 min

4.6

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mark Manson

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

What Ancient Philosophers Teach Us about How to Live

Detox Your Mind for Clearer Thinking, Deeper Relationships, and Lasting Happiness

34 min

4.5

Zero to One

Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Notes on Startups, or How to Build The Future

26 min

4.6

The Case Against Sugar

Gary Taubes

Our love of sugar is killing us

Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness

18 min

The Art of Love

Ovid

Uncover Ancient Wisdom on Love and Relationships

15 min

Psychological Types

Carl Jung

Collected works from the supreme theorist of the conscious

To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy

14 min

4.6

28-Day FAST Start Day-by-Day

Gin Stephens

The Ultimate Guide to Starting (or Restarting) Your Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle So It Sticks

The Art of Positive Thinking

Elizabeth R. Brown

Eliminate Negative Thinking I Emotional Intelligence I Stop Overthinking

18 min

4.3

The Story of the Human Body

Daniel Lieberman

Evolution, Health, and Disease

How Geniuses and Speed Freaks Made F1 the Fastest-Growing Sport

17 min

4.3

Flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The Psychology of Optimal Experience

How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes

The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World

17 min

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.