Generally speaking though, it's very difficult to starve yourself since your body wants to maintain homeostasis. I don't think that's a good way to lose weight, even if it's for the sake of better health.
The opposite is also true, such as in the case of GLP-1 inhibitors. But these drugs come with unwanted side effects, and there seems to be a rebound once one stops taking the drug. This discussion already is highly nuanced! So perhaps it's not as simple as counting calories, after all.
Counting calories is inherently inaccurate, since the margin of error for measurement on food labels is 20%. Calories are a unit of heat energy and aren't all that useful for the management of ones diet.
fail to meet our goal and rebound to the same weight - if not heavier
If calorie counting isn't working, and there is a rebound, then perhaps there is something else in our bodies that underlie the condition of being overweight that isn't just how much you eat, which I think you described well in the paragraph after.
rural village scenario
Unfortunately most of us are unable to go live in one of these, but in that scenario you described I do agree that the obese person would get a lot healthier. The removal of all processed foods would have done a lot of good by itself. Better sleep, good circadian rhythms, etc, would all contribute considerably too.
Are you a bomb calorimeter? A calorie is a unit of heat energy, how are you eating it? From the article itself:
"For decades we've been telling Americans that you're lazy, it's your fault, you're not moving enough, you're eating too much," Mozaffarian says. "And I think what this study shows is that there's really complicated biology happening and that our food is driving this."
It's not simple, nor is it straightforward. Our bodies are complex.
I didn't know how to keep it clean before, and it used to bleed and such so I went to see the dentist. I'd recommend you do the same thing - if you get a strange taste in your mouth or anything at all causes you concern it's best to go see the dentist to make sure it's okay.
In my experience food particles getting stuck in there is the main cause of any problems I've had with it. I fastidiously keep it clean now and it hasn't bothered me since.
I've had my 90-degree impacted wisdom tooth for decades at this point, it's been fine so far!
The main thing I've found is making sure no food particles get stuck in the gaps it causes. I find a kind of water jet cleaner thing like a Waterpik really helps.
I would love a recipe for pemmican. Looking forward to it!
The condition of being a billionaire is pathological, and should be dealt with in an appropriate way to pathology.
I've stopped caring about anything this waste of carbon dioxide says.
The Obesity Code is an excellent book. I also found Dr Fung's other "code" books excellent: the Cancer Code and the Diabetes Code. I particularly found the fact that cancer cells are only able to make ATP via glycolysis interesting, because it implies that what we eat also affects how likely we are to have cancer.
Why not disallow all food dye, not just the bright ones?