The obesity epidemic has nothing to do with modern sedentary lifestyles and is entirely down to eating too much, a leading academic has claimed.
Despite appearances, overall physical activity levels have remained constant for the last quarter of a century during which time weight levels have rocketed, Professor John Speakman said.
He claimed that the average man burned 1380 calories per day in the 1980s and continues to do so today. The average woman has burned 950 calories a day during the same period.
What has changed is that calorie intake has increased by at least a third to on average 3,500 calories a day, he said.