Yet, at least in America, the fitness boom started in the 1970's, so wouldn't we logically expect people to generally be more rather than less active ("exercise is good for you") than before that era when people (according to Gary Taubes) thought "exercise is bad for you." I'm willing to believe (if their data is accurate) that people could indeed be eating fewer calories a day and and be no less sedentary or even more active than back then but yet still be more obese because they're eating more refined carbohydrate and less fat after decades of being told to fear fat and replace it with carbs. That's a hormonal recipe to put on pounds quickly and easily. Unfortunately the researchers likely adhere to the old scientifically discredited "calories in/calories out" concept rather than a more accurate hormonal explanation of body fat regulation, so they must believe either people are eating more or moving less to explain weight gain, even if people aren't.