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Frame from The Obesity Code Lecture (Why do we get Fat?) Part 1 Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

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

Jason Fung
Lectures
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this lecture3 months2014–2025 score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

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

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.

“Dr. Jason Fung has a very interesting and, in my opinion, compelling explanation of obesity and weight gain.” (HN, 2018)

1 strong recommendations · 2 recommendations · 1 citations · Lectures · partly dated

4 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@JasserInicide Apr 2025 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss
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. [this video]
Lecture by a leading obesity researcher.
@mikenew Apr 2018 Recommends
on HN thread Mounting criticism of NIH's relationship with the alcohol industry
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. [this video]
Argues insulin, not calories, drives long-term obesity.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@dswilkerson Jan 2025 Cites it
on HN thread Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?
Read more
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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