Remember “The Biggest Loser”—the show where people tried to lose as much weight as quickly as possible for a big cash prize? The premise of the show was that weight loss was about willpower: With enough discipline, anyone can have the body they want.

The show’s approach was problematic, but how does its attitude toward weight loss match our current understanding of health and metabolism? The authors of the book Food Intelligence, nutrition scientist Kevin Hall, who studied “Biggest Loser” contestants at the NIH; and science writer Julia Belluz, join Host Flora Lichtman and answer listener questions about nutrition, diet fads, and metabolism.

Read an excerpt of Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us.

Guests:
Julia Belluz is a science journalist based in Paris.
Dr. Kevin Hall is a nutrition scientist and former NIH researcher based in Kensington, Maryland.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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