Weight gain

Description

Weight gain occurs when more energy (as calories from food and beverage consumption) is gained than the energy expended by life activities, including normal physiological processes and physical exercise.

If enough weight is gained due to increased body fat deposits, one may become overweight or obese, generally defined as having more body fat (adipose tissue) than is considered good for health. The Body Mass Index (BMI) measures body weight in proportion to height and defines optimal, insufficient, and excessive weight based on the ratio.

Having excess adipose tissue (fat) is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. Being overweight or having obesity may increase the risk of several diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, and may lead to short- and long-term health problems during pregnancy. Rates of obesity worldwide tripled from 1975 to 2016 to involve some 1.8 billion people and 39% of the world adult population.

A commonly asserted "rule" (the Wishnofsky Rule, a.k.a. Wishnofsky's Rule) for weight gain or loss, is based on the research of Max Wishnofsky (December 17, 1899 – August 2, 1965), a Russian-born physician who had a medical practice in Brooklyn, New York. The Wishnofsky Rule states that one pound of human fat tissue contains about 3,500 kilocalories (often simply called calories in the field of nutrition). Wishnofsky conducted a review of previous observations and experiments on weight loss and weight gain, and stated his conclusions in a paper he published in 1958. Thus, according to the Wishnofsky Rule, eating 500 fewer calories than one needs per day should result in a loss of about a pound per week. Similarly, for every 3500 calories consumed above the amount one needs, a pound will be gained.

Wishnofsky noted that previous research suggested that a pound of human adipose tissue is 87% fat, which equals 395 grams of fat. He further assumed that animal fat contains 9.5 calories per gram. Thus one pound of human fat tissue should contain 3750 calories. He then critically analyzed the relevant literature and applied a number of additional assumptions, including that the diet contains sufficient protein and that the person is in glycogen and nitrogen (protein) equilibrium, leading to most weight loss stemming from the catabolism of fat. He concluded that a 3500 calorie excess or deficit for a person meeting his assumptions, would lead to the gain or loss, respectively, of one pound of body weight. He noted that if the assumptions he made are not met, a deficit of 3500 calories would not necessarily equate to a pound of weight loss.

Wishnofsky did not take into account numerous aspects of human physiology and biochemistry which were unknown at the time. The claim has achieved the status of a rule of thumb and is repeated in numerous sources, used for diet planning by dietitians and misapplied at the population level as well.