Essay was based on incorrect premises and an unproved assumption

In attempting to resurrect a long discarded “hormonal” theory of obesity, Taubes falls into a circular argument based on incorrect premises and an unproved assumption.1 The circularity rests in his claim that overconsumption of carbohydrate causes a hormonal response that leads to overconsumption of food energy, with overconsumption being a consequence of the hormonal response rather than its cause. An axial, …