I mean, obviously the causal chain of weight gain is often going to go through caloric intake, but that doesn’t make caloric intake the root cause. For example, birth control pills, stress, and soda machines in schools all cause weight gain via increased caloric intake, but are distinct root causes.
As I said in my original comment, this might seem obvious to you but unfortunately it’s not obvious to everyone. In addition, it’s also not necessarily correct: you can get fatter because you expend less energy too. I think empirically it seems like just looking at calorie intake and assuming the energy expenditures are fairly flat is a decent story but that’s definitely not a conclusion you can reach a priori.
I mean, obviously the causal chain of weight gain is often going to go through caloric intake, but that doesn’t make caloric intake the root cause. For example, birth control pills, stress, and soda machines in schools all cause weight gain via increased caloric intake, but are distinct root causes.
As I said in my original comment, this might seem obvious to you but unfortunately it’s not obvious to everyone. In addition, it’s also not necessarily correct: you can get fatter because you expend less energy too. I think empirically it seems like just looking at calorie intake and assuming the energy expenditures are fairly flat is a decent story but that’s definitely not a conclusion you can reach a priori.