Thursday, June 28, 2012

New Study: Is a Calorie a Calorie?

A new study in JAMA led by Dr. Cara B. Ebbeling and colleagues purports to challenge the idea that all calories are equally fattening (1). Let's have a look. When thinking about the role of calorie intake in body fatness, there are basically three camps:

1. Calories don�t matter at all, only diet composition matters.
2. Calories are the only thing that matters, and diet composition is irrelevant.
3. Calories matter, but diet composition may also play a role.

The first one is an odd position that is not very well populated. The second one has a lot of adherents in the research world, and there�s enough evidence to make a good case for it. It�s represented by the phrase �a calorie is a calorie�, i.e. all calories are equally fattening. #1 and #2 are both extreme positions, and as such they get a lot of attention. But the third group, although less vocal, may be closest to the truth.
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