The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss by Jason Fung cover

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss

by Jason Fung

$5.36 on AmazonRead our full review

At a glance

First published2016
AudienceAdult
ISBN1771641258

About the Author

Jason Fung

2 books reviewed

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The Obesity Code

Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss

by Jason Fung

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for: Readers who feel that conventional "eat less, move more" advice has failed them and are encountering the hormonal/insulin framework for obesity for the first time.

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The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss by Dr. Jason Fung argues that obesity is a hormonal disorder driven by chronically elevated insulin levels — not a failure of willpower or calorie counting — and presents intermittent fasting as the central practical solution. Bridging genuine medical depth with broad readability, the book offers a coherent, well-structured challenge to mainstream dietary orthodoxy and is best suited to readers who feel conventional diet advice has failed them. The key caveat: the insulin-as-primary-cause hypothesis is a minority position in the research community and remains actively contested, so readers seeking settled scientific consensus will need to supplement their reading elsewhere.
Is it worth reading?
For readers who feel that conventional 'eat less, move more' advice has failed them, The Obesity Code offers a genuinely coherent and accessible alternative framework. The book's dual appeal — rigorous enough for medically informed readers, clear enough for a general audience — helps explain how it made Fung a New York Times bestselling author. The important caveat, flagged by Red Pen Reviews, is that the insulin-as-primary-cause hypothesis is a minority position in the research community, so readers should approach the book as a compelling argument for one contested school of thought rather than as settled science.
Similar books
Readers drawn to The Obesity Code will find natural follow-on reading in several related titles. Dr. Fung's own The Complete Guide to Fasting (co-authored with Jimmy Moore) extends the intermittent fasting argument into a practical manual. Casey Means and Calley Means's Good Energy similarly centers metabolic health as the key to overall wellbeing. Peter Attia's Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity offers a rigorous, physician-authored look at the science of living longer that overlaps on nutrition and metabolism. For those interested in the food system that shapes our diets, Michael Moss's Salt Sugar Fat and Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food provide essential context, while Michael Greger's How Not to Diet offers a data-driven counterpoint on the science of weight loss.
Who should read this?
The Obesity Code is most likely to resonate with readers who feel conventional diet advice — eat less, move more, count calories — has repeatedly failed them and who are open to a hormonal explanation for why that might be. It also appeals to medically curious readers who want a physician-authored, research-referenced challenge to mainstream nutritional orthodoxy, as well as anyone seeking a rigorous yet accessible introduction to intermittent fasting. Those who want a balanced survey of competing obesity research, or who expect the insulin hypothesis to represent scientific consensus, should approach with that expectation adjusted.
About Jason Fung
Peter Daou is a Lebanese-American political activist, musician, and author.
How does this compare to The Complete Guide to Fasting?
The Obesity Code and The Complete Guide to Fasting (co-authored with Jimmy Moore) are complementary works that serve different purposes. The Obesity Code builds the theoretical and scientific foundation — arguing that obesity is a hormonal disorder and that insulin is the primary driver — while The Complete Guide to Fasting focuses on practical application, detailing specific fasting protocols and implementation strategies. Readers new to Fung's framework are best served starting with The Obesity Code before moving to the fasting guide.
What is Fung's core argument?
Fung's central thesis is that obesity is not caused by excess calorie intake or lack of willpower, but is a hormonal disorder driven by chronically elevated insulin levels and insulin resistance. A diet high in carbohydrates and high eating frequency, the theory holds, keeps insulin persistently elevated, which promotes fat storage and prevents the body from accessing stored energy for fuel. The practical implication is that breaking the cycle requires reducing carbohydrate intake and lowering eating frequency — with intermittent fasting as the primary recommended tool. This framework is similar to the carbohydrate-insulin model proposed by obesity researcher David Ludwig, MD, PhD, though it remains actively debated rather than settled science.
Summarize this book

Summarize this book

The Obesity Code, published by Greystone Books in 2016, contends that obesity is fundamentally a hormonal disorder caused by persistently high insulin levels and insulin resistance — not by a lack of willpower or excess caloric intake. Dr. Jason Fung, a practicing physician trained at the University of Toronto and the University of California, argues that a diet high in carbohydrates combined with high eating frequency chronically elevates insulin, promoting fat storage and blocking access to stored energy. The book is organized into six parts, moving from a critique of prevailing obesity 'myths' through a hormonal model of weight gain and on to practical guidance, with intermittent fasting as the recommended therapeutic strategy. It includes bibliographical references and an index, and carries a foreword by sports science figure Timothy Noakes.

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How is the book structured?
Is this mainly a book about intermittent fasting?
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Age & Reading Level

Recommended age

Adult

Reading level

Adult

Skip if you want a balanced survey of competing obesity research or expect the insulin hypothesis to represent scientific consensus.

Editorial Review

Published by Greystone Books in 2016, The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung — a practicing physician and New York Times bestselling author — argues that obesity is fundamentally a hormonal disorder driven by persistently high insulin levels and insulin resistance, not a simple failure of willpower or calorie counting.…

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