&gt; When people follow the standard guidelines (which are beginning, slowly, to change) to avoid fat and reduce calories they end up feeling hungry all the time, and have to white knuckle their way through. This is not a state that people can maintain long-term.<p>I don&#x27;t think there is anyone recommending reducing fats and calories as the only thing.  Both of those are positive things to do to your diet, but if taken while ignoring the rest of the <i>actual</i> &quot;standard guidelines&quot; (which include eating more fiber and fruits and veggies), then yes, you are basically simply reducing calories (which is good) and increasing glycemic index (which is bad, <i>for some</i>).<p>&gt; In short, when people become overweight, which is a progressive condition of insulin resistance that grows slowly over time, or in other words and emergent hormonal dysfunction because of diet, they cannot &quot;eat less and move more.&quot;<p>I don&#x27;t believe this is true but would be interested in seeing a study.<p>&gt; To that extent it is not self-inflicted especially since millions of Americans are doing exactly that as told by their doctors and it is having no effect...The only way to really change body composition long-term, is to change diet in a way that is at odds with what doctors learned twenty years ago in the two days they studied nutrition in medical school, which, as it turns out, is wrong.<p>People have success with every kind of diet program, and it&#x27;s a bit of a strawman to argue that the medical profession is advocating a diet that is only low in fat, but still high in sugar (which is what produces the results you&#x27;re talking about).  In fact, millions of Americans are following only a small portion of their doctors&#x27; advice (ie: lowering fats) which has the effect of lowering satiety, increasing overall glycemic index of their consumption (while ignoring the advice that they should eat more fiber and less sugar).  There is no doctor out there recommending that as long as you eliminate bacon you can drink all the gatorade you want.