In fact, the history of nutrition and diet studies is replete with baffled scientists trying to figure out why many people can't lose weight by eating less and exercising."
Good point! Calories in, calories out, is is a very old school way of thinking (not that old school thinking in general is bad thing) that no longer should be taken seriously. That's not to say that exercise and caloric intake doesn't come into play at all. IMO, some people just want to blame the fat person for being lazy and eating too much. Everyone should promote personal responsibility, but there is much more involved than that.
Here is a good article on the subject.
Debunking The Calorie Myth – Why “Calories in, Calories Out” is Wrong
It's true -- thinking solely calories-in, calories-out, is flawed, because not all calories are equal -- 100 calories from meat and fat or oil metabolize a lot differently than 100 calories from sugar or starches.
I think the big misconception is that eating fat makes you fat. In my personal experience, the only time that is true in an eating lifestyle that is very low carb, is in eating too many nuts. I can eat bacon and cook in lard (IMO as healthy as olive oil and much more flavorful for certain dishes), chow down on cheese and nice fat lamb 'til the cows come home and not get buttered-up around my middle. But once I start eating handfuls of nuts (the same as if I start eating bread, crackers, chips, cakes, and other starchy snacks) ... I start pudging up, and I exercise regularly, vigorously and long.
Good point! Calories in, calories out, is is a very old school way of thinking (not that old school thinking in general is bad thing) that no longer should be taken seriously. That’s not to say that exercise and caloric intake doesn’t come into play at all. IMO, some people just want to blame the fat person for being lazy and eating too much.””
It may be old but it is still correct. The link you provided is not a referred scientific article but it does state a law of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics tells us that energy can not be destroyed, it can only change form. So if the energy that is entering the body is greater than the energy leaving the body, then the body will store the energy, usually as body fat.
If we take in more energy (calories) than we expend, we gain weight. If we expend more energy than we take in, we lose weight. This is an unbreakable law of physics and isn’t even debatable.””
I guarantee you, if someone will follow a reasonable plan with work, discipline, and passion, they will lose weight. There is no magic to it, just stick with the plan and change your ways.