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THE OBESITY CODE COOKBOOK

accumulation. We get fat because we’ve given our body the hormonal sig-

nal to gain body fat. The main hormonal signal is insulin, and that level

goes up or down according to our diet.

Insulin levels are almost 20 percent higher in obese people compared

to people within their healthy weight range, and these elevated levels

are strongly correlated to important indices such as waist circumference

and waist:hip ratio. Does that mean high insulin causes obesity?

The “insulin causes obesity” hypothesis is easily tested: If you give

insulin to a random group of people, will they gain fat? The short answer

is an emphatic yes. Patients who use insulin regularly and physicians

who prescribe it already know the awful truth: the more insulin you give,

the more obesity you get. Numerous studies have demonstrated this fact.

Insulin causes weight gain.

The landmark 1993 Diabetes Control and Complications Trial com-

pared a standard dose of insulin to a high dose designed to tightly

control blood sugars in patients with type 1 diabetes. Large insulin

doses controlled blood sugars better, but what happened to the partic-

ipants’ weight? Participants in the high-dose group gained, on average,

9.8 pounds (4.5 kilograms) more than participants in the standard group.

More than 30 percent of the patients experienced “major” weight gain!

Prior to the study, both groups were more or less equal in weight, with

little obesity. The only difference between the groups was the amount of

insulin administered. More insulin resulted in more weight gain.

Insulin causes obesity. As insulin levels go up, the body set weight

goes up. The hypothalamus in the brain sends out hormonal signals to

the body to gain weight. We become hungry and eat. If we deliberately

restrict our caloric intake in response to this signal, our total energy

expenditure will decrease. The result is the same: weight gain.

Once we understand that obesity is a hormonal imbalance, we

can begin to treat it. Since too much insulin causes obesity, treatment

demands that we lower insulin levels. The question is not how to balance

calories but how to balance insulin, our main fat-storing hormone.