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Stephan Guyenet

What Stephan Guyenet thinks about health and fitness

@stephan-guyenet · 14 positions · 1 change of mind

Obesity researcher with a PhD in neuroscience, formerly at the University of Washington, and author of The Hungry Brain. Writes about the neuroscience of body weight and food reward at stephanguyenet.com.

Stephan Guyenet did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2018 to 2021, in their own words. Our reading of what Stephan Guyenet has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingInsulin levels do not predict who gains weight in ordinary life, which is hard to square with insulin being the primary cause of obesity.

    Their wordsIn people living their normal lives, circulating insulin level, and the insulin response to carbohydrate, don’t reliably predict who will gain weight and who won’t.

    ↗Does energy imbalance (calories in > out) cause obesity?stephanguyenet.com 2nd of 6 in this piece

  3. Our readingBody fat is biologically regulated, so losing weight provokes a starvation response that pushes the weight back on.

    Their wordsThis is a phenomenon I call the “starvation response”, and it happens because body fat mass is biologically regulated.

    ↗Does energy imbalance (calories in > out) cause obesity?stephanguyenet.com 3rd of 6 in this piece

  5. Our readingOvereating can durably raise the level of body fat the body then defends, which is how weight ratchets up over a lifetime.

    Their wordsThis suggests that overfeeding had caused their body fat regulatory system to durably accept a higher “setpoint”.

    ↗Does energy imbalance (calories in > out) cause obesity?stephanguyenet.com 4th of 6 in this piece

  6. 3 years earlier

  7. Our readingRecommending a diet to the public before the science behind it is settled is the same mistake the USDA made with low-fat advice in the 1980s.

    Their wordsIf the science isn’t settled yet, perhaps it’s not the right time for bestselling books that confidently promote the CIM and a diet based on it to the public?

    ↗Why the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity is probably wrong: A supplementary reply to Ebbeling and Ludwig’s JAMA articlestephanguyenet.com 2nd of 4 in this piece

  9. Our readingThe carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity is probably wrong: it does not fit the totality of the evidence.

    Their wordsCertain forms of carbohydrate probably do contribute to obesity, among other factors, but I don’t think the CIM provides a compelling explanation for common obesity.

    ↗Why the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity is probably wrong: A supplementary reply to Ebbeling and Ludwig’s JAMA articlestephanguyenet.com 4th of 4 in this piece