this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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Your oversimplification of complex biological processes is mindbogglingly ignorant. Please find a study that shows a diet that produces results that are over a 10% reduction in body mass and with results that last for over two years. If you can't do even that miniscule baseline, if you can't find one diet that has actual scientific macking, please stfu about subjects you know next to nothing about and have no evidence for. I know it's really difficult for you to understand concepts that can't be boiled down to a single sentence, but let's try this one time, okay?
Complex biology is emergent from and constrained by the laws of physics.
There is no process, no matter how complex, that does not abide by thermodynamics.
If you burn more calories of energy than you consume, your body mass will decrease.
So you think a single phrase can encompass something useful in such a complex system? Is it better to be technically true or actually useful?
Yes. Absolutely. So do all dieticians and nutritionists, as this is the principle that all diets are based on, because it is correct.
Of course "eating less than you burn" works. That's not the point here. The point is that despite knowing this as fact, the world continues to become more obese. "Oh it's because people are lazy" Sure, then how do we treat that? How do we save lives from this global epidemic of obesity? Ignoring the fact that humans naturally can have a difficult time losing weight even while knowing the right things to do isn't going to solve the problem.
The mechanics of how weight loss works mean nothing when you don't have the time, ability, or mental stability to enact the changes required. You can't just blame individual people for this. It's a large portion of the entire world that is experiencing this issue. When it's one person with a problem, it could be their fault. When it's billions of people, maybe consider acknowledging that it's a systemic issue that cannot be solved with willpower alone.
I haven't blamed anyone or spoken about laziness. I've only stated what is true, with respect to biology and physics.
This actually was the point here, from the other commenter:
The other commenter seemed to allude that biology is too complex for thermodynamics to apply, which is of course incorrect, and that is what I responded to. Dieting does work and is always effective if one maintains a caloric deficit. My understanding of their comment was that they were not arguing that dieting is hard due to systemic factors that lead to unsuccessful dieting attempts, but that "complex biological processes" prevent a correctly maintained dieting from working. Again, that is completely false.
Obviously people struggle with dieting for many different reasons, and there are valid reasons why people would benefit from or choose other options.
Right, I do not dispute this.
While a bit rude, this point by the other commenter is the one where there's a disconnect between us.
Whether or not a diet works does not just come down to the biological mechanics of if sticking to it means you'll lose weight. Humans' ability to stick to it is still part of the diet. If humans can't, collectively, stick to a diet long enough to make it work, the diet doesn't work. If humans could turn off parts of their brain and follow diets like robots, that would be fine. But the point of contention here is if diets work. And largely, they do not, for reasons unrelated to calories in/out.
Because of biology and psychology, humans cannot reliably follow diets, at least not a significant portion of the population. (Though there are non-biological factors too.)
The other commenter is not arguing that thermodynamics do not apply. They are arguing that diets themselves do not work because people cannot stick to them. This does not mean that "diets work, you just need to stick to them". If people cannot stick to them, the diets don't work.
I'd argue that almost all of these factors are not directly related to biology or psychology at all. The evidence of this is obesity rates rapidly changing to become an epidemic in recent history, despite human biology remaining the same. According to the CDC, 13% of Americans were obese in 1960, but over 40% were obese in 2025.
Yes, there are definitely non-biological factors here. But humans evolved to conserve energy. When faced with hyper-palitable, super calorie dense foods, humans have an overwhelming urge to consume, and keep consuming. And once you're past a certain point, it becomes increasingly MORE difficult to cut down on eating, all because of biological functions. Of course the initial variable that allows for this is the availability of those foods, but the fact that humans can't resist them is purely biological. That's just one of many reasons.
Others relate to psychology, which is kind of on the edge of biology.
The point is that through no fault of the victims of obesity much of the time, they are trapped in a cycle. And semaglutide is a new way to escape from that cycle. If dieting worked, obesity would not be at the rates it's at today.
One solution is to "stop making those foods available" of course. It's a systemic issue, breaking the chain at any point would help. But if you're some lower middle class average person, your BMI is crazy high, and you have a choice between "joining a political movement to pass laws against harmful foods", "spend time, energy, and stress you don't have to spare following a diet that you aren't strong enough to follow" and "taking an injection once a week", the choice is clear.
This is an extreme exaggeration and not a real factor that makes dieting a systemic problem, evidenced by the majority of people who are not obese. You claim that dieting is due to systemic failures, which I agree with, but what you are actually identifying are individual failures.
It's one example, but it's not extreme. Many first-world countries have an obesity rate above 20%, many above 30%, and some have a rate above 40%, like the US, Egypt, and others. When 30% of a country are affected by the same health issue, it's a systemic issue. And biology plays a huge role in that. Most people know how bad obesity is for them. They're not making the conscious decision to become obese. They are making millions of micro-decisions guided by their mood, hunger, food availability, and willpower to consume calorie-dense foods. Much of that is their biological urge to consume overpowering their better judgement in the moment, made possible by factors outside of their direct control like availability of unhealthy foods.
But we're getting away from the point of this whole comment chain. The point is that dieting doesn't work. Despite official recommendations by nearly all first world countries' governments, and most real doctors out there, 30% of many countries (and 40% of my country) are obese. The point of this comment chain is that that number exists because dieting isn't working for the modern world. And semaglutide is one solution that is saving lives.
If it's useful for weight loss universally, please provide evidence. All I'm asking for is a study that shows saying the same thing over and over out of context has made anybody lose any weight. If it's such a bulletproof concept, than should be easy. If you can't do that, then your idea sucks.
Energy in = energy out is Newton’s law, not mine. You’re arguing about something else it seems
So couldn't find one?
A law of thermodynamics?
Are you trying to have a fight? Because lol
Yeah, I want evidence that's weight loss is as simple as repeating that phrase that without understanding it. I don't think people quoting it a) know what it means b) understand biology, psychology, hormones, disease. I'm tired of idiots going unchallenged on their dumb ideas.
If you eat less you will weigh less. That is always true because of the laws of the universe.
I don’t make the rules
And to be rich just make more money than you spend. True if you ignore a bunch of things. And useless.
That’s just how to go net positive, not sure this landed
Right, you're almost there. How do we get people to reliably eat less?
I don’t need people to eat less, I just need folks to understand that eating less is the answer.
The how is irrelevant to me
Everyone knows eating less is the answer. We have for decades. And yet, the world is obese. You're not revealing anything new or revolutionary. Society has accepted this as truth long ago, and now we are tackling a different problem - how to keep as many people as possible realistically able to lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease. Having the willpower to eat less isn't the answer for 30+% of the population.
Sticking your head in the sand and saying "I don't care how you do it, just eat less" is at best tone deaf and pointless and at worst actively harmful. The problem we're facing now isn't that we don't know how a human can lose weight. It's how individuals in our current society with external factors and challenges can reliably lose weight, applied at scale.
I’m not trying to reveal anything, I’m just stating facts and people’s emotions are flaring up for reasons I will never know. This whole back and forth is just so painfully weird.
Why do you think everyone in here is so emotional? Why are laws of thermodynamics so emotionally hot for all the people in this thread?
I am not talking about obesity, nor was I ever, for some strange reason that’s where you keep steering. Why do you want to talk about fat people, when I’m discussing energy conservation?
This whole conversation is about obesity. The article is about losing weight with ozempic, which is to treat obesity. My top comment was about obesity. Everyone else is talking about obesity. The reason you're getting pushback from everyone is because you're purposely ignoring the topic at hand and arguing pedantics about energy conservation when nobody else is talking about that, or cares about that. You're preaching to the choir. Everyone knows you can lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn. It's common sense. But that's not what the whole discussion is about.
I'm also not sure what you're referring to about getting emotional, except for maybe that one person who told someone to STFU.
We agree that yes, the laws of thermodynamics exist and you are correct. Now how about you come and discuss what everyone else is discussing and contribute something to the thread? If you don't feel like discussing obesity and real-world weight loss tactics, that's perfectly fine. I'm sure there are plenty of other posts and threads talking about thermodynamics that you can join.
FINALLY you get it. My whole point was that thermodynamics is always correct, and if you reduce what goes in that’s the only way to make an organic system lose mass.
Thank you for finally seeing my point. This isn’t at all about weight loss, it’s about emotions for you people.
Makes no sense to me
Again, there are no emotions running high here, except maybe from you and that one person who got mad for some reason. From the beginning you misunderstood the point, didn't listen to anyone in the conversation, and failed to admit you were wrong.
Nobody was ever arguing with you claiming that thermodynamics didn't apply. Every single person here understands that thermodynamics applies. You are wrong because you came in arguing something that nobody else was talking about. We were talking about apples and you came in here, emotions flaring, yelling about oranges.
I "got it" from the beginning. This quite literally is all about weight loss. It's not about physics or thermodynamics. It's about weight loss in the real world, and I believe even after reading this comment you will still refuse to acknowledge this. I am going to stop feeding what I realize now is an obvious troll. I am bad at recognizing trolls, I need to get better at that so this is partially my fault for continuing to enable you.