Whilst I imagine that this paper is technically sound, the entire discussion around weight loss on HN is utterly bizarre.
So there are pollutants that mildly increase appetite or decrease basal metabolic rate.
If you're gaining weight and don't want to, the knobs of diet and exercise are still there, they don't go away simply because the number of calories you need changes a bit.
Fast food and ready meals are in plastic containers. There is almost certainly a link between those and obesity. But you can eat both and be thin, or muscular and lean, or any body type you want really, if you modulate their use.
People budget all of the time with their money, but ask them to do it with food and it's like you have two heads.
So there are pollutants that mildly increase appetite or decrease basal metabolic rate.
If you're gaining weight and don't want to, the knobs of diet and exercise are still there, they don't go away simply because the number of calories you need changes a bit.
Fast food and ready meals are in plastic containers. There is almost certainly a link between those and obesity. But you can eat both and be thin, or muscular and lean, or any body type you want really, if you modulate their use.
People budget all of the time with their money, but ask them to do it with food and it's like you have two heads.