Is Obesity A Choice? (Science Explained) 

A few more thoughts after reading many of the comments I’ve noticed two recurring bits of pushback: The first argument goes something like this: “Sure, these factors all show that not being obese is HARDER for some people, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a choice. Hard choices are still choices.” I’ve noticed this coming mostly from people who are either currently in good shape, or used to be obese but have since lost a lot of weight. While this life change IS commendable and I have a huge amount of respect for anyone who has done it, to me, this feels similar to those who have gotten rich telling poor people that they are poor because of their poor choices. “I am not poor anymore. You can be not poor anymore too, if you make the right choices.” Obviously, no one is denying that people CAN change their lives around, and work their way to success. And no one is arguing that people have no control over their lives. But people who fall for this argument are usually blinded by survivorship bias. OF COURSE people who got out of poverty will attribute their success to their hard work. OF COURSE people who lost weight will attribute their success to their good food choices. But what about the people who worked hard just as hard as you did, but didn’t get out of poverty? What about the people who made just as many good food and exercise choices, yet remained overweight? We don’t hear from those examples as much. Saying that obesity is still a choice, even if it is harder for some people, is like saying poverty is a choice, even if it is harder for some people. Even though being poor is technically a matter of spending more $ than you make, there are simply too many contributing factors to shift the blame entirely to the individual for their “choice” to be poor. Similarly, even though being obese is technically a matter of eating more calories than you expend, there are simply too many contributing factors to shift the blame entirely to the individual for their “choice” to be obese. Maybe we’re speaking past one another and merely debating the semantics of the phrase “a choice”, but even still, it doesn’t seem like a good phrase to use. Let me try a few examples that I left out of the video: If you get a tattoo on your body, that is 100% your choice. If you get cystic fibrosis (a genetic disease) that is 100% not your choice. If you have the “right genes”, you get cystic fibrosis. As I see it, because obesity has both controllable behavioral inputs (like making healthy food choices) and uncontrollable genetic and environmental factors (like your baseline hunger and childhood diets), it must sit somewhere in between those two extremes. But because the phrase “a choice” implies a simple, binary decision and places the onus entirely on the individual, it can’t be the best way to describe a multi-factorial condition as complex as obesity. It just doesn’t fit. The second argument I’ve been hearing is that "weight loss is so simple, though: It’s just calories in, calories out." On the surface, this is true. But again, it is the same as saying: “getting rich is simple: just make more dollars than you spend!” Humans are not robots. Telling people to “just eat less” or to “put the fork down” isn’t effective most of the time. It CAN work, just like telling people to “just work harder” CAN make some people rich. But it just isn’t the answer most people need to hear. If you build up the discipline to put the fork down today, you might pick it up twice as much tomorrow. The development of obesity is complex physiologically, psychologically, socially and politically, and there are thousands of researchers who have dedicated their entire lives to understanding it and how to address it. If it were as simple as “putting the fork down”, obesity wouldn’t be the enormous multi-disciplinary riddle that it is today. Hope that makes sense!

I'm glad you brought up stress and depression (among the other many factors). Really goes against the overused dogma of "everyone has the same 24 hours in a day."

At my most successful weight loss, I was working a job that I liked, had friends that I saw outside of work, and was feeling happy for the first time in a long time. I ate healthy because I liked feeling healthy. I was able to exercise more because I wasn't constantly worried about people judging me. At my least successful, I was in college, completely burnt out, miserable, and had virtually no social life. I was anxious, depressed, and ate garbage because I felt like garbage. I left the house as little as possible because I felt ashamed to be in public. The only exercise I got was commuting to and from school. External factors are REAL and pretending like they don't matter is not helpful. Sometimes you have to work on the problems surrounding an issue before you work on the issue itself. There's no way of knowing what a person is dealing with; it's not fair to simplify their struggle to "just eat fewer calories, bro."

It is crazy how different hunger can feel. I used to be over-weight with generally a low metabolism and was always hungry. I reached a healthy weight through exercise. But then for a while I was depressed because of very real life issues and I never felt hungry. I felt over-satiated without even eating. I lost 15 pounds in a month with no real change in my behavior besides not liking food. For many people I can imagine it would work the other way. We should always be tender hearted with people. You cannot know them enough to judge.

Jeff talking rock-solid science with empathy, care, and nuance. You're very quickly becoming one of my favourite voices on the internet, and you're doing very valuable work

As someone who has never struggled with obesity, but almost everyone in my immediate family has, I’ve always known this is true. I had a terrible gag reflex growing up, which forced me to eat very slowly and chew thoroughly, and this helped me to not overeat. This, combined with feeling less hungry generally than others in my family, helped me remain thin without really trying. Meanwhile, family members are trying their best and seeing few gains. It’s frustrating for them, and the last thing they need to hear is that they aren’t trying hard enough, when people in their family don’t try at all and are at their ideal weight. You cannot know, just by looking at someone, how hard a person is working to achieve their health goals.

This adds a lot more humility to the discussion. Growing up, I found it easy to think people were simply out of control with how big some of them got, and I scoffed at their absolute disregard for their own health, but maturing has shone light on many more angles of the topic.

There is also the mental element - I didn't realize I was a stress eater before I didn't move in on my own and my stress levels decreased and suddenly I didn't have those giant cravings anymore, but opted to eat what was in the fridge instead of ordering take away, to use as comfort/ soothing tool for the evening. Great video as always, Jeff!

The studies on the Dutch Hunger Winter are also pretty eye-opening. In short, children who were in utero during the famine conditions of winter 1944-45 grew up to be much, much more likely to be obese and suffer diseases such as diabetes compared to their siblings born before or after that period. Their bodies were essentially imprinted into believing they were always in starvation conditions, and impacted both their behaviors (binge eat because you don't know where the next meal is coming from) and their metabolism (store more fat to survive the next famine).

I’ve been struggling with my weight literally my whole life, failed so many times trying to lose fat, but I have faith that one day I will reach my goal and finally be truly happy. Currently, it’s been 4 months since I started my weight loss journey and it’s going slow because i’m not really exercising... I just got some diet help from Next Level Diet which guided me to reduce my food intake. But if I really want to, I could still eat something without restricting. I already lost 27 pounds and I’m much happier everyday :) Of course, there are times when I fall off but that’s why it’s called a journey. It has ups and downs but as long as you have faith in yourself, all your hard work will pay off ❤

The most important part is the encouragement. If an obese person makes the decision to change for the betterment of their own health, they're already likely facing an enormous amount of challenge from their own body and psychology alone. If we truly want to consider ourselves fitness-minded people, we should be applauding their every effort and positive choice, understanding of their relapses, and accepting of them into our fitness communities.

Thanks for this video. Some great information. 1 year ago, I was 560lbs. It has taken so much work to get down to my current weight of 415lbs. I have a lot more to go but understanding these other factors helps a lot.

I was an overweight kid and my family kept blaming me because I wasn’t exercising enough even though in hindsight I was pretty active. I know now that your weight is a lot about your diet, something kids have zero control over. As an adult, I’ve lost a lot of weight just by having control of my food and wish I could tell my younger self to not blame yourself about your weight.

As a doctor, especially as a neurological recovery doctor, I can just congratulate you for this absolutely wonderful video. I couldn’t say it better. This video should be presented at schools.

Excellent video, Jeff. As a former obese person I am often too hard on obese folk. Thank you for reminding me my own experience doesn't qualify me to judge how hard others have it.

I've lost 60 pounds and I really wish people understood everything in this video. I was depressed my whole adult life; calculating every bite I took wasn't a priority. I could hardly get out of bed let alone excersize and cook a healthy meal. I have finally began to recover and am very close to my goal weight. It took over a year to get this far and it was not easy. I have the utmost sympathy for people like me who struggle to lose weight. People who've never been overweight don't seem to understand that it's not fixable overnight. Just because I'm overweight right now does not mean I'm not doing everything right to fix it.

I've been struggling to not preach this stuff to my family when it's multiple factors contributing to their obesity. Thanks for reminding me to be more compassionate and aiming to point them in the right direction. I just wish they asked me more often instead of being complacent.

I was obese from 6-28 years old and always thought that was simply the cards I was dealt. Managed to get to "normal" BF% levels in a year and kept there since (with some small cuts among the way). Yes, I had to make MAJOR lifestyle changes, I will have to be "calorie conscious" for the rest of my life and will never be Instagram shredded, but it is possible to fight all these factors (which certainly exists) to stay in a "normal" BF range.

This is massively important. I am just coming out of a 6 year period where I drank 4-6 dark beers per day (my preferred brew has 256 calories per 12 oz, and I didn't learn this until about 6 months ago) and I would eat an entire family sized pizza 2-3 times a week at night. I walk about 10,000 steps a day but no other real regular exercise beyond normal office work and some core exercises a few times a week to prevent back injury. I gained 85lb. I'm 6'4" with a large frame size and high lean mass. Every partner I've ever had says I feel like sleeping next to a furnace. After tracking my intake/supposed caloric needs for 8 months and extrapolating those back, on a calories in/calories out level I should weigh at least 140lb more than I do. I quit drinking 6 weeks ago and I'm down 15lb. I find that alcohol destroys my ability to tell if I'm hungry and I mindlessly eat and drink more. Anyone who doesn't have empathy for people who have unique struggles with weight and doesn't understand decision fatigue and the power/privilege of education. Find that one thing in your life you can't seem to gain control over. Organization? Time management? Being a better driver? Now imagine that was weight management and integral to your well being.

I realised that I'm genetically blessed in the metabolism side, my physique genetics are average but this video helped me understand how I was able to eat so much without gaining much weight. For people that are struggling to loss weight they have my complete respect, for lots of people is really hard as Jeff have pointed out

It's probably fair to say that everyone can make the choice not to be obese. But for some people that's just a really damn hard choice that requires a ton of work. For other's they practically couldn't get obese if they wanted to. It's a "choice" for both people. But that doesn't mean it's the same choice for everyone.

Excellent video, Jeff! Agree completely. You only have to be a trainer for, like, a month to realise just how different people are in this regard! Or to see the difference that a contraceptive pill or epilepsy medication can make. Or hypothyroidism. Hormones alone can completely throw off an AMR calculation. All of which you mentioned and expertly supported 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Tren hard.. Eat clen. Anavar give up

Over a decade being overweight, battling obesity, begging everyone from doctors to strangers on the internet for help, going to every single source I could find to get more information, this is literally the first time I've heard of "NEAT". Thank you.

I love how Jeff prioritizes the facts and still always comes off as level headed and empathetic.

My brother suffers from a severe learning disability and has been obese since he was a teenager. I honestly consume more food than him these days and I am a healthy weight and always have been - he weighs 80lbs more than I do. He doesn't have capacity to understand things like food choices but my parents generally try to manage his portions etc. I sometimes can't understand how he doesn't weigh less as when I calculate his caloric needs for maintenance I'm fairly certain he isn't hitting it. It is easy for someone who has never struggled with food or their weight or mental health to say "it's a choice". I thought this video was fantastic, well balanced and presented and I loved the compassion that came across. Great job Jeff!

I'm so thankful that you took the time to put this together. In our world the total disregard and shame obese people have to endure as their own exclusive shortcomings is nothing short than cruelty. I've personally experienced that pressure beginning at the earliest memories of my childhood where I was given celery at birthday parties instead of the celebration cake piece, the daily constant bullying from the obnoxious comments to the straightup physical and sexual abuse by my school frenemies and the constant medical shaming and trips to the nutritionist office depriving my siblings of every food related pleasures thus marginalizing me in my own home. Now, a full decade into therapy I know and accept that I'll always be in remission and at risk for an eating disorder and body dysmorphia. Just like we wouldn't shame a schizophrenic patient for taking medication for their condition, obesity should absolutely be addressed thru this multiaxial analytical lense including some pharmaceutical help. The trouble is most obviously to treat the underlying issues first like the psychological trauma then to re-educate and reframe the cognitive frameset towards self-compassionate discourse to enable stable healthy holistic approach to lifestyle rather than full on shame driven radical diets followed by binge sessions.

I was over 300lbs and it’s was a choice and it was also a choice to lose weight. I wasn’t taking care of myself.

“Is obesity a choice?” is a fundamentally different question than, “Do your choices contribute meaningfully to your obesity?”

"Is X a choice?" is more of a "push" question. It's not usually asked by people seeking an answer, but by people who want to shape how you think. You do a great job here of addressing the question as though it were an honest inquiry, seeking an honest answer. Even setting aside the research, your objective, but not uncompassionate, tone communicates really well. Hell of a skill.

'In conclusion, obesity isn't a choice. But don't worry! If you're obese, you can choose not to be...' What?

Another thing to consider is how much energy you expend at your job. Yesterday I found out about apple health tracking my steps and you can definitely see a huge difference in my steps for different periods in my life. As a college student, I had an average of around 7,000 steps a day, during the start of the pandemic I had around 2,000, and now, since I work at a grocery store, I take an average of 14,000 steps daily. I also have to lift heavy things frequently for my job. Since we all spend a lot of time at work, I think it’s definitely something to be considered. For me, if I decided “let me try to get 10,000 steps a day” I would have to make literally no lifestyle changes. Meanwhile, for maybe an office worker, they would have to allocate more of their free time.

Over the last 10 months, I went from 230 pounds to 165 at 6 foot flat. Whenever people ask how I did it I usually find myself saying something along the lines of eat less and move more. 10k steps a day not only increases the amount of calories you can eat in a day, but also offers a plethora of other health benefits. At the end of the day, discipline is key, and it's simply about being good more often than not.

I feel like environmental factors are hugely downplayed and always last in these type of videos. In my opinion, it's a greater driving force than biology (as demonstrated by disparity in obesity rates in developed countries, which is not explained solely by genetics since immigrants tend to adopt the same rate of obesity as the host country). Here are some additional considerations in addition to those in the video: Zip code: Many people of low SES live in food deserts where there are no grocery stores for miles and miles, making it harder to buy nutritionally balanced food. If you live in a poor neighborhood, many schools severely lack funding to provide proper nutrition physical education programs. How many schools run proper affordable cafeterias with tasty healthy foods, and not just serve up pizza and fries? Can they afford to run sports teams or have equipment for people to exercise? How do you go for a run if you don't have access to a gym or your neighborhood has no parks? Maybe it's dangerous to exercise outside because it's not safe. Education: With schools no longer teaching home economics, many people don't have the knowledge to interpret nutrition labels and cook healthy foods! Someone could be eating 1900 calories, but if they are severely deficient in a key nutrient, they will end up driving up their hunger response and keep eating. Countries like Japan that teach balanced diets at an early age show drastically lower rates of obesity! Psychology and conditioning: we are taught to finish our plate and not waste food while combining ridiculous portion sizes. it's been shown that people will tend to just finish their plate not realizing they are eating more. Compound that with astronomical portion size and it's very easy to make people gain weight. Many psychological studies show that hunger suppression depends more on habit and psychological factors than actual physical satiety signals. A study gave people with short term memory loss a meal and then waited for them to forget, and gave them a meal again, over and over. They kept eating and eating until their stomach distension got so uncomfortable they had to stop and that was the only predictor of when the subject would stop eating. So clearly, hormonal signals of satiety aren't strong enough to override psychological conditioning. Vicious cycle: How do you eat properly if all of the above compounds into parents unable to have time or afford quality food to cook for their children, end up buying bags of chips or a fast food burger to feed their kids? Their kids end up with metabolic issues and the starting point when they can control what they can eat is at obesity. Then they have to learn how to lose weight, while not losing dangerous amounts of protein, and be able to afford proper nutritionists and workout locations. To top it off, there will be a host of medical issues in the family due to poor diet, leading to huge medical bills, and the cycle starts again. Poverty is extremely expensive and the ability to control what you eat and how much you exercise is a lot harder for some people than just walking to your nearest grocery store and going for a run. If we want to end the obesity epidemic, start with properly funding schools, invest in proper infrastructure in poor neighborhoods and give people the resources to be able to choose without giant hurdles in their way.

This video is such a breath of fresh compared to the attitude that some other fitness influencers take in this space... thanks for the fantastic, science based videos!

Lots and lots of choices. Some have much more difficult choices than others for factors based on hunger response and natural tendencies to move more. But it should be encouraging that everyone can empower themselves to change if they want to. The same is true for very thin people wanting to change

I agree, it’s semantics. But even hard choices are still choices. I fear when the Locus of Control shifts to ‘I can’t help it’ then all is lost. Always remember, in the end, it is in fact a (recurring) choice.

it literaly is the simplest problem. eat less. they got fat by eating to much. get used to feeling hungry or stay fat. you don't even have to work out... just eat less

Just recently started lifting and started watching your channel, I appreciate the info you pass along

My conclusion from my whole weight loss journey is that it's probably not your fault that you are obese, but it's still your responsibility.

It's really impressive that you film right and edit these episodes all by yourself while staying in such good shape. Hats off to you man and thank you for giving me the knowledge that I need to keep going.

This is an incredibly well put-together video that really highlights the multiple factors leading to obesity. The fitness community can be quite toxic occasionally through relentlessly blaming and shaming people who are overweight without a fundamental understanding of metabolic activity. As a doctor, it's important to attempt to underline all of the issues a person may be experiencing when it comes to gaining/losing weight. In addition to your point about differences in hunger/satiety - this is mediated hormonally by a number of compounds, mainly ghrelin and leptin. When your body moves away from homeostasis (or your base weight), your body will do whatever it can to get back to 'normal', i.e. decreasing your leptin levels, making you generally hungrier all the time. Unless you are able to resist the urge to eat calorie-dense foods forever, you're more than likely to regain your calorie surplus and gain weight. This is one of the reasons that so many people who lose a lot of weight initially tend to return back to where they started.

Quite simply, there is something so refreshing about your vids and I can't put my finger on it yet. Perhaps it's that lack of hubris or whatever. Easy to listen to, easy to watch, because you have done all the hard work. Although you'd think the topics have been done to death, you revive them with a calm, rational approach that is quite appealing. I was going to comment on your 'few more thoughts' post below, but it looks like you have plenty already. Suffice to say, I think we are born with a hand of cards, learning how to play them (or not) is the only choice. Keep the vids coming. Great stuff.

Thank you for your considerate take! I have recently lost nearly 25 pounds and am hoping to lose about 55 more, but I've been struggling with weight management for over 20 years due to PCOS, stress, and depression. I developed an eating disorder in my early 20's and have yo-yo'd between extremely restrictive diets and binge eating, in addition to overly strenuous workout regimines that caused me to iniure myself, halting my weight loss entirely. Only after I managed to maintain a healthy diet WITHOUT being overly restrictive of my calories (while still struggling with the impulse to restrict further or using exercise as punishment for eating) have I FINALLY been able to start getting in shape. It's easier now that I've been working at it for months, but it's nowhere near as simple as "eat fewer calories" like so many people on the internet who have never struggled with their weight make it out to be.

Jeff, I love ya. During last two years I lost about 40kg. Went from morbid obese (124kg) to normal weight (85kg). Your "smartest ways to get lean" video helped A LOT. But I've always strugled to explain why people shouldn't just laugh at fat people. You've just done that for me. You named every single problem overweight people face in their life. I've been there. For 30 years. This is spot on. Also I'd add that vicious cycle when depression leads to comfort eating, that leads to weight gain, that leads to depression.

Very level headed. Reality and genuine compassion. Great vid, Jeff. I’m trying to help some friends lose weight and this opened my eyes a bit more. Keep up the great work mate

Very solid overall breakdown of the issue at large. Pointing out the underlying mechanisms, while maintaining nuance and empathy.

Thank you for the incredibly thoughtful video. I'm not obese, nor do I have a tendency toward obesity, but this video is important for helping us understand the difficulties others may be having trying to manage their weight.

The internet loves over-simplification, & it's great that you're researching such a nuanced topic. Thank you Jeff! 👌👍

As always, amazingly put together. I do fitness for 5 years. Now in late 30's. Try to implement scientific approach. Live in Ukraine. With the beginning of war and kicking in depression, I jacked up my training routine to counterbalance negative factors. However found myself struggling to loose any fat while reducing overall calories consumption (just saying, not the biggest problem people have here). Sleep quality is also often an overlooked factor. Overall health (and wealth) is always an underlining condition for any sport or fitness. On the other hand none should ever wait environment to improve to start doing fitness. Even when you are not reaching your goals difference between sincere attempt and accepting defeat is massive.

Thank you for this, you clearly did a great deal of research to do this. I commend you on your ability to convey complex ideas in an easily digestible way.

Wow, really great breakdown! Some would say.. it's very "digestible".

Very well done, as usual. Very important topic that deserves to be addressed in this way. Glad you're still doing what you do (including the never-ending and consistent improvement). Respect, homie.

As an Obese lifer about 2 years ago I chose to believe it was a “Switch” and decided to hit it. This worked for me and today I am 104 pounds lighter and very very active. I have to keep an eye on my macs and stay disciplined with activity but I’m in Obese Recovery. I cheat about 2 or 3 treats a week but with the rest of my days of lean proteins and veggies it doesn’t affect me. So as the ex over 300 pounder I agree so much with all this. But for me I turned it into a switch that I was ready to flip. If your watching this video to make a change in your life keep it up. You can do it.

Great video! I also heard that environmental temperature changes both energy expenditure and levels of hunger, people use to eat more in the cold, but also spend more energy to heat the body. I also noticed that I felt very warm during winter when I used to bulk, but usually I freeze pretty quickly and try to not spend a lot of time outside.

Immense respect for covering this topic Jeff

Great consciousness-raising work, Jeff. Those in public health know this as a socio-ecological approach to a public health crisis. Inviting compassion is hugely encouraging to see given your platform, regardless of whether there are many takers out there.

I had a very draining job in the past years , I took around 30 kg , that put me in the obese category. I stopped it 2 month ago for another job, I'm already 5 kg down without changing my habits. I just have a better sleep and less stress. Thanks for pointing other factors. The "motivational stuff" you can find in the fitness sphere that "it's your choice you fat trash".

literally never comment on youtube videos but I commend Jeff so much for this vid because of how deeply this belief is ingrained in fitness communities and the way he approached the subject matter w empathy is really telling. even though I’ve nvr personally struggled with obesity i j appreciate it a lot

As someone who has been fighting his tendency toward obesity for as long as I can remember, I don't disagree with any of the points you make. And, I honestly believe this video is coming from a good place - providing good information and working against social stigma. However, from my experience, (as someone diagnosed with depression, as well) while there is certainly a correlation between depression and obesity the direction of causation is still in question. I think, based on an unscientific sample size of 1, it is probably cyclic - with each worsening the other. Further, a person's psychology relationship with food can, all too easily, become part of a dopaminergic reward system that favours high fat and high sugar foods. I don't like using the word 'addiction', it has a lot of baggage and isn't well understood, but this feature certainly habitualises behaviour in a pattern that is outwardly similar. With that in mind, I am happy drawing an analogy using smoking. Some people never have the urge to touch a cigarette, others try one and find it disgusting and the rest end up getting hooked. For those who are hooked they know it is bad for them, that it is shortening their life, messing up their lungs, literally sending their money up in smoke but some will never even try to quit and for those that do it is regularly reported as one of the most difficult things they have ever done. But, for these people trapped in the nicotine cycle, the huge warnings on the packets made no difference at all. When we try to address the problem of obesity through an informational lens it is a good first step, but by ignoring the psychological and emotional factors it will always be lacking. I have spent the last decade+ educating myself in an attempt to improve my health. I don't think I know it all - and even if I did there would be some new science along in a bit anyway. But, I do understand about calorie density, energy-in-enegy-out, the importance of exercise, etc. In that time I did manage to, eventually, quit all forms of nicotine but I still have not managed to get my eating fully under my control. I made this ridiculously long and probably poorly punctuated (sorry) post because while I feel you definitely do want to help, I suspect you are in one of the first two groups (the ones who didn't get hooked). They don't seem to understand what it is like. How could they, they have never experienced it. Besides from an objective pov it makes literally no sense. Why would a rational person do that to themselves? Because, while there is always an element of choice, it doesn't feel like a choice, it feels like a compulsion. I know it is a little outside of your wheelhouse, but if we really want to fight obesity I do not think we can ignore how important this is. I hope you will agree.

1:51 I don‘t like the fact that you keep saying „this lucky person“ or „these blessed individuals“ burn so much more calories while resting… There are underweight people who need to force themselves to eat 5000 calories a day in order to gain weight. IMO these „lucky“ individuals have it even harder since eating so much is more time consuming and forcing yourself to do sth is harder than simply forgoing something.

Fantastic breakdown of a really complex subject. Knowing all the potential pitfalls can help a lot in managing your weight, and knowing the reason behind why you shouldn't always be comparing your progress directly to someone elses. We all get dealt different cards in life and have to play what we got in the best way we can.

“Blessed” is a rather strong word for someone with fast metabolism

I understand your explanation. But in the end. It is a personal individual choice on how someone chooses to eat. I believe a huge part of it is most grab fast food out of laziness. (Hear me out here) we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Yet some people who have full time stressful careers. Raise a family, yet still find time to meal prep. Make healthy choices, and still manage an hour a day for training. The way i see it is. In life. We all are capable of truly achieving our goals if we take them serious. And put them at the forefront of their daily lives. Those that really work hard at keeping everything in balance. Are the very small percent that make it happen. Its very hard work. And takes a lot of effort. Which is why so few can do it.

I've been working really hard on my weight loss by making better choices and exercising more, I did lose all the weight about ten years ago (kept it off for about 6 months) and then I packed it all back on. Thankyou for making a video that doesn't enable bad choices, but also shows compassion. I go to the gym at like 2am in the morning as people are so judgemental and rude towards me when I'm at the gym, lifting weights and doing my cardio days. I carry all my weight around my gut and I'm quite slim everywhere else so i get I look odd, but considering how hard I work and try everyday it's quite hurtful. I've been addressing so many different things about food and it's incredibly difficult, so for a super fit person like yourself to encourage people to not right someone off as a fat greedy pig and look at all the factors, was honestly super healing to read for me. My mother is a sloth, overeats and doesn't try to lose weight ever, and I try to eat less, and work out and we're both judged for being 'fat pigs', I'm going to keep working at all my issues with food and self control and I've made massive strides for my own personal journey, even if nobody else can see it yet. The first time I lost all the weight, it was due to a wonderful PT who would literally kick people out of the gym if they were rude to anyone overweight/ out of shape in his gym. He treated me like a human being, and he was kind to me, and it was almost a familial relationship like a kind older brother. That was the first time I was ever treated properly despite being big and I will forever be thankful to him as he really inspired change, and this dude was JACKED. Yes I packed it all back on over time, but I started to address my issues and make small incremental changes for the better more and more. I no longer eat a stupid amount daily, and I work out 2- 3 times a week now, and I'm adding more effort as my body adjusts to the routine. I don't want obesity to be enabled like it is currently, I just want the human being to be seen and those of us 'fatties' that are actively trying to change be treated with dignity and respect even though we might look like the 'lazy fat pig' ones still, for now. I'll send you some progress photos down the line bro, but seriously thankyou for this video.

Hands down some of the best scientific health and fitness content available online. Presented in a digestible way without giving way to being comprehensive in coverage. Thank you for all the work you put into your videos.

I'm a trainer and I've been both fat and skinny in my life, I gained 50 lbs in 5 months after my sister died. If you know the most basic nutritional information, like knowing large quantities of sugar isn't good for you and consuming excess calories can lead to weight gain, you have no excuse being obese if you don't want to be. 100 percent of the adults that know what I mentioned above are overweight because they choose yummy meals over meal that they KNOW are good for them. If you have that basic knowledge then you have no one to blame but yourself for being overweight. And that nonsense of nutritional food being more expensive than caloric-dense junk food is an asinine excuse because I can find a nutritional alternative @ the same price for any cheap meals that would make you fat if eaten excessively. You have total autonomy over your own body, especially if you're an adult so if your tummy wants something yummy and you haven't been eating well lately, you have the power to change, even little by little over time and feed your body something that's good for it, instead.

Thank you for making this video. One factor that prevented me from losing weight is ADHD and depression, I had no idea it greatly impacted my ability to lose weight. When I got treated by a psychiatrist and a psychologist, I finally was able to maintain consistency and motivation. It saved my life, so for anyone who is struggling with trying to maintain a proper diet and better lifestyle routine, consider that you might have some underlying mental disorder and get treated as soon as possible.

Anyone arguing that “obesity is a choice” just wants to feel like they are better than other people who don’t have as strong “willpower” or “decision making ability”. Seriously, why else would someone argue this angle on obesity? What else would people on this side of the debate be after (unless perhaps this is about healthcare / societal costs of obesity). In any case, I appreciate Jeff’s empathetic (but nonetheless scientific) angle on this topic. If we value actually helping people, then this is the right approach. Now, it’s a whole nother question whether obese people ought to be helped in the first place, or if they should have the right to exist as an obese person without anyone de-valuing them or questioning why/how they are the way they area.

With few exceptions, It’s years of daily lifestyle decisions that lead us to where we are at. Years of good decisions can lead you to a good place, even if genetics makes it tougher.

Some people feel more hunger compared to others, how they satisfy their hunger is discipline

These effects are huge. Me and my mate traveled for 6 months and ate the same food and lived very similar lives. He was smaller yet always ate more and he drank copious amounts almost every night. He probably ingested 1000-2000kcals/day more than me on average and still stayed in shape while I couldn't. Life is not fair.

Some valid point but I am not convinced. Sure there is variability but i think that in the vast majority of cases it can be reduced down to willpower. If you eat less than your maintenance everyday, cut out all of the junk food and go for a 30 min walk/run every day you will lose weight if you are obese.

Love this video. As someone who struggles with weight gain who has successfully lost weight (most of my adult life at 225-245 lbs, lowest at 185 with energy issues and less strength, and currently at 200 feeling my best in terms of cardio, strength and general health), I can say that fat shaming and blaming the individual was wrecked my self esteem and made it harder to lose weight. This is all anecdotal but I think another genetic thing is possibly susceptibility to addiction, as my weight problems were directly correlated to my issues with alcohol. Great video, doesn’t shy away from the fact that obesity can cause issues but we shouldn’t make moral judgements of a person for being overweight.

Since eating behaviour was taught from your parents I would say that obesity is not a choice, unless you only get obese once you are an adult. There are plenty of studies showing that people who were obese in their childhood have it way harder losing weight than people who got obese in their adulthood.

Hey Jeff, Question regarding resting metabolic rate: Did the subjects who burned more cal at rest have more muscle than those who burned less cal? I’ve read lean mass burns more calories at rest than fat mass does. However, I don’t know by how much. Would it be a substantial enough difference considering varying body composition from person to person?

"CICO is not that simple" *Greg Doucette screams in distance*

Great video. This is a difficult topic and you covered everything perfectly. Definitely saving this to share in the future! Thanks and keep up the great work Jeff.

This was very insightful and compassionate. Thanks for posting.

TL:DR: Yes. Long answer. It's hard to make the right choices that keep you not obese, easy to make choices that make you obese and some people have situations that make it harder than for others. Responding to Jeff: I am still obese and one of the ones that have tried everything. But have been obese my whole entire life but I don't delude myself thinking that I didn't choose to eat the whole fried chicken for dinner.

I’m glad you addressed this with poise and honesty, although I would say your analysis still determines it is a series of choices, but some choices may be harder for some than others. Most importantly though, it isn’t something to bully people for but rather guide them in the right direction and encourage them to make the choices they can that will impact their lives positively.

First of all I'd like to thank Jeff for one more detailed and super well produced video. The work you do for the industry is amazing! Now, even if the base physique you find yourself is not really a choice and depends on many external factors, all of us have the choice to chance. Of curse, it's harder for some people, but I really think you shouldn't say it's not a choice. That's very depressive and untrue. I've known many people throught my life that have overcome incredibly hard instances of obesity, and if they had sat on their couch doing nothing their situation wouldn't have changed a bit. So it's very much possible and changeable. People should be more sure of that

Great video and great channel! I love how you anchor all your discussion in actual research which you clearly cite! Also found it funny, you could replace « obesity » with almost anything and the thesis of this video would still hold true 😄 nonetheless it’s so easy to overlook.

Hey Jeff. Just ordered your Ultimate Guide to Body Recomposition program. Is there a food scale you recommend? Seeing a lot of conflicting reviews… thanks buddy.

Excellent video Jeff. Being a health and wellness coach I love videos like this and to see how much more in detail it goes into that is not simply about exercise and nutrition but other factors as well.

Wow this was truly enlightening and useful. It's so needed today. Both for us with the drive and ability to focus on fitness and those who may struggle to get their health under control.

I have always had to eat less than others and work out hard to maintain a good physique. As I am approaching age 34, I am grateful that I had to work hard when I was younger, because it set me up for a good habits that keep me in great shape to this day. Meanwhile, I watch all those that were naturally skinny in high school struggle with slowed metabolisms from aging. Trying to look at the glass half full!

A lot of these are connected. Being sedentary leads to less exercise. Less exercise will result in a lower resting metabolism. Many factors can contribute to less quality sleep which can also lead to lower RMR and depression, which in turn will reduce your drive to exercise and increase your likelihood to eat poorly, as well as impact the quality of your sleep. There's a lot of compounding factors and many can be addressed with difficult choices. Not everybody has the genetics to be a model, but nobody has the genetics to be 300lb+

Super important and informative and not cheesy at all! Really. I'm always blown away with how good you are with your words.

I really can't tell you how much I value your videos. The vastness of knowledge and information you put into them is amazing. Simply, thank you!

Awesome! As a pre-med, I appreciate all the effort you put into this, and you’ve truly covered all the bases.

I was obese once. Perhaps I was/am predisposed more than peers. But I knew I was obese and was tired of it. I chose to eat better. I chose to move more. Lost the weight and kept it off. Only lapsed back into the overweight category once when I was dealing poorly with some chronic pain. For those predisposed, it is a choice to make better choices. That choice can be more difficult for some than others based on all that was mentioned in the video.

I can tell ya, during my years of depression and stress, that stuff sneaks up on ya. I didn't even notice I was fat until a year after getting there. It was weird, but when I noticed, I became more sad. Haha. Thankfully, I'm no longer, but it's been an experience. Took me 7 years to make an actual attempt for consistency and learning before finally just starting. Lol. But I chose it, unwittingly or not.

As someone who is obese but used to be fit, you would be surprised how it can sneak up on you. When I first got fat, I acknowledged "Ok I'm definitely fat now, need to do something about that". Time passes, depression happens, life gets busy, suddenly you've been living a few years as a fat person. And In my mind I'm thinking "I'm overweight but only 40 pounds or so, I've lost that much before" Next thing you know you go to the doctor for a check up, and you're actually 100 lbs overweight. You vow to yourself it has gone too far, you try a new diet, you shed some weight, something slows your weight loss, slowly but surely the weight creeps back up again. Suddenly you're 150 lbs overweight etc. etc rinse and repeat. My point is nobody gets obese overnight, but your weight and sedentary lifestyle really does creep in. You think "I'm a fat person, but I've been fat for a decade now I'm not as big as THAT guy" and then you see a photo of yourself and think "Oh my god, I'm BIGGER than that guy! WHAT HAPPENED?"

Jeff, as usual, you collate the evidence and present it and explain it very clearly. I must add to your research; from "Adenovirus 36 prevalence and association with human obesity: a systematic review", they conclude, "Strong evidence suggested a positive association between viral infection and obesity. However, due to the multi-causality of obesity and heterogeneity of studies, diagnostic tests should be standardized and easily accessible by the population to estimate the overall prevalence of Adv36 infection and its association with obesity." - Worth bearing in mind. I like your subtle use of the orange/teal style of cinematography for a pleasant viewing experience.

The most important thing about this video is rejecting the simplistic notion that “choice” is a sufficient explanation for a given phenomenon. Bravo.

Jeff, this is fantastic. I have lost 100lbs from educating myself and watching your's and other's videos on here (also doing your PPL program). I've been trying to find the words to explain to my fit friends why it was always so hard to lose weight, but this is so perfect. Thank you.

I’ve always loved how positive, real, and empathetic your videos are

I think it also deserves mentioning that obesity within a community can be normalised. If you're surrounded by obese people, it's obviously more likely that you will be as well. I've always thought it was interesting that the scientific community has such a different body type than society in general. This could be similar to the difference in body type between socioeconomic groups (the poorer being more obese), but the behaviours don't seem to be quite the same in that scientists don't seem like a group that is concerned about appearance although they may be thinking about long-term health. It might also be that they're just thinking more. The brain is the biggest energy hog in the body and while changes in brain activity amount to marginal increases in energy consumption, sustained levels of activity can amount to quite a lot. I suspect this might be the basis for much of the baseline metabolic differences Jeff displays in this video, and might indicate we also make a complex series of choices about where our resting metabolism is.

My parents raised me as an obese, I chose to no longer be obese when I was like 14 years old. That’s just me tho, and I have to be 100% on with my diet or my body will put 25+ pounds on me within 3 weeks. My entire life has to be centered around not becoming obese again it takes up so much of my mental bandwidth I hate it.