What People Get Wrong About Metabolism And Obesity

For decades, a myth dominated the health industry: people who are lean have a “naturally fast metabolism” and people with obesity have a “naturally slow metabolism”.

Since metabolism is your body’s process for converting food to energy, this idea seemed logical and fuelled metabolism-boosting trends.

People did everything from taking stimulant drugs to loading their diet with sardines. (Yes, it’s a thing .) These “quick fixes” promised to trick our bodies into burning calories at a faster rate.

But newer research has shown that while metabolism does impact weight, that alone doesn’t fully explain the rise in obesity.

In fact, a recent Duke University study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that metabolic rates remain pretty stable ac