Diet, not Lack of Exercise, is the True Driver of Obesity, Reveals IAEA Nutrition Database

Increased calorie intake is the dominant driver of obesity in wealthier societies, not reduced physical activity, data from an IAEA nutrition database has revealed.

New research involving over 50 institutions in 19 countries has found that increased calorie intake - not reduced physical activity - is the dominant driver of obesity in industrial societies.

The study, published recently as a scientific article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenges the conception that decreased physical activity contributes to the rising obesity that is associated with economic development.

"Despite decades of trying to understand the root causes of the obesity crisis in economically developed countries, the relative importance of diet and physical activity has remained uncertain," said Herman Pontzer, professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University and one of the article's authors. "The IAEA's Doubly Labelled Water Database has enabled a collaborative global effort to not only test these ideas, but also resolve the uncertainty around a pressing public health challenge."