Dietary intake continued
To point to overeating as the cause of obesity is overly simplistic, however. It does not explain why one 125 pound woman can eat 1,800 calories a day and not gain weight, while another woman at the same weight struggles to avoid gaining weight on 1,200 calories a day.

This difference occurs because numerous other factors contribute to weight gain, including resting metabolic rate and physical activity, as we have discussed.

Nevertheless, obese people must be consuming more calories than required by their individual makeups and activity levels. Otherwise they would not store excess body fat.

Thus, if you’re overweight, you must reduce your calorie intake to lose weight successfully, and then moderate your calorie intake in order to keep it off long term.