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Summary of Transcript:
Peter Etia welcomes Stefan to the Drive Podcast, and they discuss Stefan’s path to becoming one of the most thoughtful people on the nuances of obesity. In college, Stefan studied biochemistry and neuroscience and went to Mike Schwartz’s lab for his postdoc. He did his Ph.D. with Alispada at the University of Washington, studying neurodegenerative disease. He has always been interested in fitness and nutrition, and when he learned about the neuroscience of obesity during his Ph.D., he decided to pursue it. He finished his Ph.D. in 2009 and connected with Mike Schwartz. They discuss how obesity has increased over the last thousand years, with a much higher percentage of obesity in modern affluent societies than a thousand years ago.
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Summary of Description:
In this episode of The Peter Attia Drive, Stephan Guyenet, a neuroscientist focused on the neuroscience of obesity and energy homeostasis, discusses how obesity has changed phenotypically throughout human history, the role of genetics, hormones, and the brain in the regulation of fat mass, and the factors that affect body weight set points. He goes through two common theories of obesity, the carbohydrate-insulin model and the energy balance model, and provides insights into how we’re hard-wired to think about food and the consequences of modern foods designed for maximal pleasure.
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Exploring the Neuroscience of Obesity with Stephan Guyenet
Obesity has been a significant public health concern for decades, and the prevalence of the condition has been steadily increasing. In this episode of The Peter Attia Drive, Stephan Guyenet, a neuroscientist focused on the neuroscience of obesity and energy homeostasis, explains how obesity has changed phenotypically throughout human history and the factors that have contributed to the dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity in the last few decades.
The Role of Genetics and Hormones
Stephan dives deep into the role of genetics and hormones like leptin in regulating fat mass. He explains the differences between the two common theories of obesity—the carbohydrate-insulin model and the energy balance model—and provides his take on which approach has more substantial evidence. Additionally, he provides insights into how we’re hard-wired to think about food and the consequences of modern foods designed for maximal pleasure.
Body Weight Set Points
Stephan also reviews the factors that affect body weight set points. He explains the hypothetical comparison of two individuals and provides takeaways for people wanting to take advantage of what we know about the brain’s role in regulating our body weight. He also discusses the evidence that favors the energy balance model of weight gain, the synergistic effect of fat and carbohydrates, and observations that low-fat or low-carb diets can cause weight loss.
This episode of The Peter Attia Drive provides a comprehensive look at the neuroscience of obesity and energy homeostasis. Stephan Guyenet’s insights on the role of genetics, hormones, and our hard-wired behaviors towards food offer valuable takeaways for people wanting to learn more about the science behind obesity.
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Source Description
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Stephan Guyenet is a neuroscientist focused on the neuroscience of obesity and energy homeostasis. He is the author of the book, The Hungry Brain and the founder/ director of Red Pen Reviews. In this episode, Stephan explains how obesity has changed phenotypically throughout human history and what might explain the dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity in the last few decades. He discusses genetics, the brain, and hormones like leptin regulating fat mass. He dives deep into two common theories of obesity—the carbohydrate-insulin model and the energy balance model and provides his take on which approach has more substantial evidence. Additionally, he provides insights into how we’re hard-wired to think about food and the consequences of modern foods designed for maximal pleasure. Finally, he goes through the factors that affect body weight, sets points, and provides takeaways for people wanting to take advantage of what we know about the brain’s role in regulating our body weight.
We discuss:
0:00:00 – Intro
0:00:08 – Stephan’s neuroscience background and his focus on the nuances of obesity
0:07:17 – How obesity has changed for humans throughout history
0:14:45 – The association between obesity and adverse health outcomes, the “obesity paradox,” and confounders when relating BMI to longevity
0:25:49 – The sharp increase in obesity across demographics
0:33:52 – The hypothalamus and its role in obesity
0:45:32 – The role of the hormone leptin in obesity
0:53:24 – The genetic component of obesity
1:05:48 – Understanding the tendency of humans to store fat through an evolutionary lens
1:13:32 – The hedonic aspect of food and how the brain reacts to modern, highly-rewarding foods
1:26:46 – How we are hard-wired to think about food
1:35:16 – A review of the “Carnivore diet.”
1:50:06 – The energy balance model, carbohydrate-insulin model, and unifying the theories around adiposity
1:58:41 – Body weight set points: a hypothetical comparison of two individuals
2:07:26 – Takeaways for people who want to lose weight and keep it off
2:16:34 – Evidence that favors the energy balance model of weight gain
2:26:54 – The synergistic effect of fat and carbohydrates and observations that a low-fat diet or a low-carb diet can cause weight loss
2:34:46 – Red Pen Reviews
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About:
The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 45 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.
Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice extensively deals with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease) while improving healthspan (quality of life).
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