There are two things about Taubes' book I had a problem with: 1) lifestyle and 2) exercise.

It is hard to convince anyone that a fast-food, couch potato lifestyle doesn't contribute to obesity. We eat way too many processed, unhealthy calories. You presented the evidence in another thread that we are eating over 2700 calories a day of processed crap. I didn't say he was wrong in his assertions; I simply said that he didn't stress the lifestyle factors enough.

Some people do get lean eating a lower-caloric more balanced diet of good carbs, fat and protein. You can't deny that. Look at Dr. Oz. The man is lean with a great body. He also exercises. You can achieve fat loss on high fat, but few people ever get to the point of leaness without exercise and watching calories. Taubes himself is not particularly lean, even though he is not obese.

It seems to me that most, but not all, people at some point in their weight loss must begin to consider calories to avoid being stuck in the simply overweight classification. There are women on this forum who have been low-carbing for years and haven't come close to a BMI of 22.

I simply think Taubes would have been taken more seriously if he had paid more homage to lifestyle factors and exercise. Otherwise, I think GCBC is a great work of investigative journalism.