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The Obesity Code Lecture (Why do we get Fat?) Part 1

The Obesity Code Lecture (Why do we get Fat?) Part 1

Jason Fung
3 HN recommenders · discussed 2014–2025
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About this video

Dr. Jason Fung lectures on why obesity became an epidemic since the 1970s, arguing insulin and hormones rather than calories drive weight gain. He explains why calorie counting fails and touches on low-carb eating and fasting.

Why it appears in the archive

HN commenters recommend it as a compelling alternative explanation of obesity from a prominent proponent.

AI-generated summary and labels from the source dataset; verify important details against the video. Source & credits.

From the Hacker News discussion

JasserInicide · 2025-04 · strong rec

Jason Fung is probably the world's leading research expert on obesity. If you want videos to watch on it, it starts and ends with this guy. He has done a ton of lectures and blogposts going back over a decade, and also has the stereotypical clickbaity YouTube videos. [VIDEO]

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beachstartup · 2014-02 · rec

[VIDEO] i'm not sure if you're being serious but it'll take longer than 20 miutes, more like 6 hours. this isn't a simple topic but the new science on it is compelling.

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mikenew · 2018-04 · rec

Minor point, but Dr. Jason Fung has a very interesting and, in my opinion, compelling explanation of obesity and weight gain. He argues that the main driver of obesity in the long term is insulin rather than total calories, and because alcohol doesn't significanlty raise insulin it doesn't contribute to obesity, despite the calories. [VIDEO]

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dswilkerson · 2025-01 · reference

Fasting puts your cells into a "clean out the junk" mode that is quite powerful for deleting stuff, including cancer. That is, rather that being passive, fasting is quite active and uniquely potent. I had a lump in my throat near my vocal chords that I was told was a standard response to acid reflux and was inoperable. It was there for 15 years and hurt whenever I would sing. I did a 20 day fast last summer and just happened to have it examined and photographed before and after. Before the fast it was there and after it was completely gone. Valter Longo is one of the world's experts on fasting. You might want to read this article of his on fasting and cancer: [LINK] ____ Starvation, Stress Resistance, and Cancer Roberta Buono, Valter D. Longo Dysregulated metabolism is one of the emerging hallmarks of cancer cells. Differential stress resistance (DSR) and differential stress sensitization (DSS) responses are the mechanisms caused by fasting and fasting-mimicking diet (FMDs) to promote protection of normal cells and induce cancer cell death. Fasting-dependent reduction in glucose and IGF-1 mediates part of the DSR and DSS effects. Fasting and FMDs have the potential for applications in both cancer prevention and treatment. ____ Either Longo or another fasting researcher pointed out that you can make a level of chemotherapy where none of the rats that are not fasting live and where all of the rats that are fasting live. So fasting is a powerful alteration of cells that makes th

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