This time, I would like to discuss three key factors－plus one additional factor－that may contribute to the occurrence of what I call “intestinal starvation."

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In addition to these, many other factors may also be indirectly involved in the recent increase in obesity. However, it is not always clear how multiple factors combine to drive weight gain across the population as a whole.

I propose that one possible explanation involves a mechanism I refer to as “intestinal starvation.”

This condition is unlikely to occur due to a single factor alone, but is more likely to arise when the three factors (+1) described below overlap at the same time. For this reason, it may help explain how everyday eating habits and lifestyle patterns—when considered together—can lead to weight gain.

This idea is consistent with the view that consuming low-GI (glycemic index) foods and minimally processed foods help prevent obesity.

It doesn’t depend on the amount of calories you eat, but the quality and balance of food you eat. For example, eating a variety of foods and having a good balance vs a bad balance may lead to gaining weight, even if you eat small amounts.

Eating speed, how well you chew, and how much fluid you drink during meals may also influence this factor.

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Many people report gaining weight due to lifestyle changes such as skipping breakfast or eating dinner late at night. Behind this type of weight gain caused by irregular daily routines lies the issue of long gaps between meals—in other words, enduring hunger for extended periods of time.

Eating late at night does not always lead to weight gain by itself. If dinner has to be late, having a small snack in the early evening—such as nuts, milk, or a sandwich—can help prevent intestinal starvation by avoiding prolonged hunger.

Even when eating the same meals, people with strong stomachs and high digestive capacity may be more likely to experience intestinal starvation than those whose digestion is slower. In today’s society, where energy-dense foods are common, the ability to digest protein and fat may have a particularly strong influence on whether intestinal starvation occurs.

On the other hand, people with sensitive stomachs or conditions such as gastroptosis may find it difficult to fully digest all ingested food in the first place.

If genetic factors contribute to obesity, then the secretion of enzymes and hormones that affect digestive capacity and appetite, as well as the sensitivity of their receptors, is likely to play a major role. Of course, these factors can also change due to environmental and lifestyle influences.
      

In addition to the three factors, I added one more important element as “+1,” which can be explained by “continuity.”

What this means is that not only the meal you have just finished, but also your previous meal and the meals before that can influence whether intestinal starvation occurs or not. 

The reason is that the intestines are very long—about 7 to 8 meters in total (with the small intestine alone being about 6 meters)—and it takes, on average, more than ten hours for food to pass through the entire intestinal tract. Because intestinal starvation is judged across the whole intestine (or possibly only the small intestine), it is influenced not only by a single meal, but also by your previous meal and the meals before that.

This is also the flip side of why eating well-balanced meals three times a day is thought to help prevent obesity: it helps ensure that the intestines are continuously exposed to food of adequate quality, reducing the chance that the body interprets the situation as “starvation.”