Fig. 2: The EBM of obesity.
From: On the pathogenesis of obesity: causal models and missing pieces of the puzzle
The energy and nutrient needs of the body are transmitted to the brain where these signals are integrated with signals from the environment to control food intake. Modern food (1) (particularly energy-dense ultraprocessed foods (UPF), sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and foods rich in fat and sugar and low in protein and fibre) disrupts the signals and/or sensing of the supply and demand of energy and nutrients (2), resulting in increased food intake (3) and subsequently increased metabolisable energy, exceeding energy requirements. The excess energy is mainly stored in adipose tissue (4) but also in lean tissues of the body (5). Concomitant to weight gain, energy expenditure increases (6). Refer to the legend in Fig. 1 for other abbreviations.
