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1. Two meanings to the phrase 'gaining weight'

It is generally believed that “taking in too many calories and lack of exercise” are the causes of gaining weight, but I think this theory has a major flaw. In reality, there are two types of weight gain.

To explain this, I have used the 'set-point' theory regarding body weight as I believe there is basically a function of homeostasis in our body.

(A): This is the part where many people say, "I gained weight because I ate a lot of calories."

Many individuals prone to weight gain try to reduce their daily caloric intake and/or exercise to keep their weight low because they do not want to gain weight.

In such cases, the body always tries to go back to its set-point, so naturally, eating a lot result in weight gain.
(Temporary overeating may lead to further weight gain beyond the body’s set-point, but I believe this weight gain is temporary and does not alter one’ set- point weight.）

(B): A weight gain in this range means that your set-point weight itself increases. I believe one’s set-point weight goes up through intestinal starvation.

When you feel like you have somehow gained three kilograms in a year or ten kilograms in three years, despite not eating much, it may suggest this weight gain.

In my opinion, the fundamental difference between people who are obese and people who eat a lot but are lean/thin, and also the global obesity issue, is rather a matter of (B).

2. Why people get fat

I know there are many theories, but let's go with this concept. Human beings evolved tens of thousands of years ago. Considering the original functions of the human body, can’t we think that body fat is a storage mechanism for situation of starvation?

Even the muscles and the brain do not decrease with use. Exercise puts a load on the muscles, which makes them firmer and improves athletic performance. Studying increases our ability to think and remember.

In other words, from the perspective of the mechanism of the human body, the reality is the opposite of the theory that “we gain weight because we eat too much or take in too many calories.”

One finding that supports this is the fact that "being overweight is associated with poverty in some populations."
And also, some of us might have experienced gaining more weight than before, each time we tried dieting－eating less and exercising more.

However, the current theory is that “we get fat because we either eat too much or don't exercise enough,” and one reason for this is that we see people who are obviously overweight and eat a lot as a result of our society growing affluence. One might say, “If starvation makes us fat, then African refugees should be obese...”

These events seem contradictory at first glance, but I think my theory can resolve them.

3. How do our bodies perceive starvation?

Now, the question is, based on how our body determines that there is no food.

From my experience when I was really thin, it is not that we are starving because of poor nutrition.

The state of all food digested is what our body perceives as "no food." On the other hand, when fiber, fats, oils, and other undigested materials remain in the intestines, our body recognizes that “there is still food.” (I believe it is the entire intestines or small intestine that recognizes all of this).

I call this state of complete food digestion "intestinal starvation." And one’s set-point weight mentioned in section [1] goes up by inducing intestinal starvation.

[Related article] My Definition of “Intestinal Starvation

Make no mistake, this is not the same as mere hunger. In most cases, even when you don’t eat anything for twelve hours, a few traces of undigested food such as fat or fiber remain in your intestines, because our intestines are as long as seven to eight meters (the small intestine is about six meters).

But if you keep eating an unbalanced diet that leans toward carbohydrates and some easily digestible protein, or light meals such as fast food, it’s possible that you can digest all the food in your intestines even in seven to eight hours.

That’s why westernized flour-based diets, fast foods, and processed foods are more likely to induce intestinal starvation, while the traditional rice-based diets found in Asia are said to be less likely to make you fat.

4. What is wrong with calorie counting?

A “calorie” is a unit of measure of energy.

In the late 1880’s, it is said that Wilbur Atwater of Wesleyan University was studying what proportion of different foods humans could digest and absorb based on the combustion heat of each food. Based on the Atwater coefficients derived from that study (4 kcal/g for carbohydrates and protein, 9 kcal/g for fat, and 7 kcal/g for alcohol), we still basically calculate calories in food today.

However, these figures were calculated based on a system using an average of subjects and I don’t think it can be applied to everyone. Digestion and absorption are a complex processes, and they vary widely from person to person, so adding up the calories listed on a food label is not strictly meaningful.

Some experts believe that individual differences in digestibility are slight, but I believe that the difference makes a large difference in the various functions of the body.

5. On a caloric basis, people who want to lose weight and those who want to gain weight are doing the opposite of what they should

Food sources that make it easier to induce intestinal starvation are our current foods such as refined carbohydrates, easy-to-digest protein, and processed foods. This is because carbohydrates, when taken with water, expand in the stomach, diluting the concentration of the food eaten and speeding up digestion.

In contrast, eating fibrous vegetables or less digestible foods such as nuts, dairy, meat, and oil/fat, prevents this. (Of course, it differs from person to person). That's why people who eat a balanced diet regularly tend not to gain weight.

Thinking about dieting based on caloric intake, people who want to lose weight tend to avoid calorie-dense foods such as oily foods, and fatty foods.

In addition, they sometimes try to eat light meals or skip meals, which may help them lose weight temporarily, but may result in an increase in set-point weight over the long haul.

Also, when some thin people want to gain weight, they tend to eat high-calorie foods. Besides, they often snack between meals without hesitation.

However, when thin people eat that way, as a result, some undigested food is left in their intestines throughout the day, and their set-point weight does not change.

In this case－theoretically－the overweight person and the thin person are both doing the opposite of what they hope to achieve, and both tend not to obtain good results.

6. Even if people eat the same way, there are those who gain weight and those who don’t

Of course, even if carbohydrates are likely to induce intestinal starvation and make you gain weight, it does not mean that everyone who eats a big bowl of rice, a big-sized burger, or instant noodles, will gain weight. Some people gain weight even without eating many carbs vs others who never gain weight regardless of eating too many carbs.

I believe that there needs to be at least four determining factors to induce intestinal starvation.

I used the word "relatively" to explain the reason that some people tend to gain weight while others do not, even if they eat the same way.

For instance, if Mr. A, who weighs eighty kilograms, and Mr. B, who weighs forty-eight kilograms and is thin, eat the exact same food at the same time every day, Mr. A will tend to gain more weight than Mr. B in the long run.

Assuming that Mr. A has stronger digestion, you can say that the person who can digest food faster “eats relatively less.”

On the other hand, people with weak digestion or gastroptosis tend to leave undigested food in their intestines through an entire day, making it difficult for them to gain weight, even if they eat a good amount of food.

[Related article]
What Does It Mean to Eat Relatively Less?

7. Why the timing and frequency of meals affects obesity

In Japan, it is said that a well-balanced breakfast is less likely to make you fat no matter how much you eat, while a late-night meal is more likely to make you fat, though there may be some influence from television.
It is also said that if you skip breakfast and have two meals a day, you are more likely to gain weight.

Of course, this is not true for everyone, but I can explain why this tendency appears with my intestinal starvation theory.

The food we eat is sent from the stomach to the small intestine, and then finally to the rectum over a period of more than ten hours. This means that when we eat and how many times we eat in a day, are also important factors.

I think that the increase in obesity worldwide over the past several decades has been attributed in part to "irregular mealtimes" associated with changes in work, recreation, and other aspects of life.

8. Cause and effect are reversed

An increased set-point weight means an "increased capability to absorb nutrients"－the balancing point in terms of energy in/out is higher, creating a more positive energy cycle－and that covers all absorbed nutrients, not just energy sources, but also proteins, minerals, etc.

The muscles that support internal organs, digestive enzymes and hormones are also made from protein, so it is no wonder that bigger and fatter people can digest the same food faster. As a result, these people tend to eat more because they get hungrier and have a greater appetite.

In short, the cause and effect are sometimes reversed: people do not always get fat because they eat more, but because they are bigger and therefore inevitably eat more.

This leads to giving the wrong message to others, including obesity researchers.

9. Genetic factors

The biggest genetic factor I can think of is the “digestive ability” of each person. (Of course, this can also change later in life). People with strong stomachs that can digest food (especially meat and oil/fat) quickly will have a tendency to induce intestinal starvation and gain weight in the long run compared to others.

Our genes probably will not change in the period of one century, but our food preparation and processing techniques have evolved considerably over the past several decades, and many of us now prefer soft, melt-in-your-mouth mashed foods to hard, fibrous foods.
In other words, we are eating foods that are relatively simple and light, even if our ability to digest them has not changed.

However, I am not in agreement with the theory of the special gene－obesity gene－that causes obesity.

As I mentioned earlier in section one, the fundamental difference between obese people and those who eat a lot and don't gain weight can be explained by the difference in set-point weight of each person, not directly related to the amount of food or caloric intake.

Also, as mentioned in section five, the reason why some people eventually gain more weight after dieting despite reduced caloric intake is because the current calories-in/calories-out theory is obviously wrong.
What’s more, as mentioned in section six, how fast a person can digest different foods and how one’s intestinal starvation is induced has to do with why some people tend to gain weight while others don’t, even if they eat the same.

10. How to prove my theory

If there are researchers who agree with my ideas, it would be possible to demonstrate that people can gain more weight even with reduced calorie and carbohydrate intake by inducing intestinal starvation.

Ultimately, it would be desirable to conduct an intervention study where subjects are randomly assigned to an intervention group (semi-starvation diet) and a control group (regular diet). However, if you have doubts about the idea of people gaining weight with the semi-starvation diet I propose, it would be fine to confirm that first before proceeding.

As a first step, all we need to do is to gather the bare minimum of ten to fifteen people who don’t gain weight and stay the same, even though they eat a lot. Monitor them for a few weeks. (However, it is difficult to get good results if they have gastroptosis or weak digestion, like me.)

By eating the diet that I will specify for a certain period of time,－at least I believe that－over fifty percent of the test subjects will gain weight dramatically, and then basically maintain that weight. I’m positive that if this experiment is repeated with the same person several times, it is possible, for instance, for a person who initially weighs sixty kilograms to weigh eighty kilograms, and eventually one-hundred kilograms or more.

The following article explains why intestinal starvation makes humans gain weight, but a more detailed explanation can be discussed in person.

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How people gain weight through intestinal starvation