I like reading your posts Marc and I have a high opinion of your nutrition knowledge, but I have to wonder what country you live in. My observations in the States is that the majority of the obesity epidemic is the result of carb consumption. I know someone posted here a graph of carb consumption vs. obesity and the two matched nearly perfectly. I'll look around.
Also for me, carb consumption=hunger. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Eat 1 cookie and I am very soon hungry for 2 or 3 more. Eat a small portion of spaghetti and I am very soon hungry for 2 or 3 more servings. When I eat my moderate fat/moderate protein main course with a big helping of leafy greens, broccoli, whatever, then I am full and I stay full.
thanks
respectfully, your observations don't match up to what i've been taught. (most) any professor or professional would agree with me.
carbohydrate consumption in and of itself is not the cause of obesity, period. this is most easily seen in that, in dieters, moderate carb, high protein, low fat diets almost always produce the greatest reduction in weight (1). carbohydrates have their role in obesity, especially with their over-consumption in the west, but saying they are causal in and of themselves just doesnt match up with the science...
i'll point you to walter willet's(thee prominent nutritional research of this century)/HSPC's opinions on carbohydrates, weight loss and specifically low/no carb diets as a source of credible scientific information vs the abstract-only reading, theory making style of the proponents of the paleo style diet.
1. Sacks FM, Bray GA, Carey VJ, et al. Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates. N Engl J Med. 2009; 360:859-873.