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Global Translational Medicine Mass balance

Nietzsche described above the phenomenon that later Consent for publication
came to be called cognitive dissonance. The theory of
cognitive dissonance proposes that people are averse to Not applicable.
[56]
inconsistencies within their own minds . More specifically, Availability of data
cognitive dissonance refers to the perception of contradictory
information. If a person has been teaching things related to All data generated or analyzed during this study can be
energy balance for decades, the magnitude of dissociation found in the sources cited in this article.
can be at a massive level. Despite this, it is worth considering References
the fact that if the etiology of obesity is misunderstood,
it will have a detrimental effect on practically any type of 1. Arencibia-Albite F, 2022, The energy balance theory is an
obesity and weight management research. inconsistent paradigm. J Theor Biol, 550: 111240.
Occam’s razor (novacula Occami) also supports the https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2022
mass balance approach. This principle states that entities 2. Wikipedia. Living Review. Available from: https://
should not be multiplied unnecessarily. By definition, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living-review [Last accessed on
all assumptions introduce possibilities for error. If an 2022 Aug 27].
assumption does not improve the accuracy of a theory 3. Arencibia-Albite F, 2020, Serious analytical inconsistencies
or model, its only effect is to increase the probability that challenge the validity of the energy balance theory. Heliyon,
the overall theory or model is wrong. What does a person 6: e04204.
measure when he/she stands on a bathroom scale? Is it https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04204
his/her body mass or energy? It is obviously the amount of
mass in his/her body. Why then do people continue to study 4. Sterner RW, Small GE, Hood JM, 2011, The conservation of
body mass changes in the context of energy changes? Such mass. Nat Educ Knowledge, 3: 20.
a perspective only offers a rough second-hand estimate at 5. Meerman R, Brown AJ, 2014, When somebody loses weight,
best. The right starting point is to measure mass directly. where does the fat go? BMJ, 349: g7257.
As aforementioned, energy balance and mass balance are https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7257
separate balances in the human body.
6. Kooijman SA, Kooi BW, Hallam TG, 1999, The application
The key publications in the reference list and other of mass and energy conservation laws in physiologically
references that can be found in them may be helpful for structured population models of heterotrophic organisms.
further information about the subject. A recent paper by J Theor Biol, 197: 371–392.
Arencibia-Albite is a recommended read, which should, https://doi.org/10.1006/jtbi.1998.0881
[1]
at least in my humble opinion, provide new insights into 7. Arencibia-Albite F, Manninen AH, 2020, The energy balance
this subject. theory: An unsatisfactory model of body composition
Acknowledgments fluctuations. medRxiv.
https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.27.20220202
I would like to thank my family for their support and care
as well as my colleagues for stimulating discussions. 8. Arencibia-Albite F, Manninen AH, 2021, The mass balance
model perfectly fits both Hall et al. Underfeeding data and
Funding Horton et al. Overfeeding data. medRxiv.
This research did not receive any specific grant from https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.22.21252026
funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for- 9. Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al., 2011,
profit sectors. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on
bodyweight. Lancet, 378: 826–837.
Conflict of interest https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60812-X
The author declares no conflict of interest. 10. Kong Z, Sun S, Shi Q, et al., 2020, Short-term ketogenic diet
improves abdominal obesity in overweight/obese chinese
Author contributions young females. Front Physiol, 11: 856.
This is a single-authored paper. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00856

Ethics approval and consent to participate 11. Hall KD, Bemis T, Brychta R, et al., 2015, Calorie for calorie,
dietary fat restriction results in more body fat loss than
Not applicable. carbohydrate restriction in people with obesity. Cell Metab,

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2023) 14 https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.222