I disagree with the article, and don't believe mathematics has the answer to obesity.

However, if someone would like to start a diet-centered startup with me, I believe I have an insight that invalidates every diet book on the planet.

Every diet book on the planet makes one very false assumption. Before we get to the assumption, let's review something uncontroversial:

- You put on fat by eating more calories than you use; and you lose fat by using more calories than you eat.

In other words, losing fat (beating obesity) would seem to be a combination of "diet and fitness". If you like, you can view every diet book on the planet as a combination of strategies that fall into those two categories (eat less or use more of the calories).

So how can ALL those strategies be wrong?

Let's turn the equation "net fat gain = calories in - calories out" into something more familiar. "net bank account gain = money in - money out."

is it really so simple? Yes. Everyone who weighs more than they want has more money in their bank account (more Calories on their body, ready to burn off) than they want.

Now to get to the big diet books' fallacy, let's turn this around. You're a multimillionaire and want to lose half of your money. What's the easiest way to do it? The easiest way to do it, if you're a millionaire, is to call up your accountant and say, "I would like to donate half of my money to Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, please arrange this."

That's a strategy. You can write it down on a piece of paper and fax it to your accountant with your signature on the bottom, after a few more signatures it's done.

So, what is the difference between THIS strategy and a DIET strategy? Simple: When you wrote that down to fax your your accountant (or booked a hotel room by email, or booked an appointment with a repairperson, contractor, whatever, basically anything like that) then the strategy you wrote down and faxed, in that fax, had the effect that the person it addresses WILL OBEY YOUR COMMAND. They will follow your strategy.

Whereas, if you decide "every morning 5 pushups" and write it down, even if you fax it to yourself that does NOT mean that its recipient (you) will do 5 pushups the next morning.

In other words, every diet book on the planet thinks that you are the boss of the person doing the dieting and exercising, and simply have to micromanage what they do.

But you are NOT the boss of you. Let's recap.

Writing:

"Dear ---, After careful deliberation I have decided that I will immediately be donating 1/2 of all of my wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Please liquidate an appropriate portion of my investments in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds (in equal measure) for me to to be able to donate half of my net worth, and then prepare the donation for my signature. Yours truly,"

now it will start to happen, and another signature or two and it's done. (Even if this was considerable work for the accountant!!!)

Now write down: "Starting tomorrow morning, as soon as you wake up please ensure your first action is to do 5 pushups and 5 situps. For seven days do so, then for the next week do 10 of each, the next week 15 of each, then 20, and os on, until you reach 50 of each (after 10 weeks), which you should keep doing indefinitely. Yours truly, yours truly."

Simple strategy, right? Only problem is, if you fax it to yourself, I can almost guarantee you that the recipient of the fax will not do what you want. Even if you sign it. Even if you really, really want you recipient to follow through. They won't.

Every single diet book makes the SINGULAR mistake of thinking that its reader is free to choose a strategy of consumption and of exercise. Not so: the reader can agree with every word. Unlike agreeing with every word of investment advice that a rich person can order an accountant to follow through on, the reader of any diet book has no such power to order that a strategy (of either diet or of exercise) be executed.

- read about Tahiti, decide you want to see it, call your travel agent and have them book a room in Tahiti, and a room will be booked in Tahiti.

- read a fad diet, decide you want to see the results, and... no guarantee you will have a chance to see them.

In sum, if you see what is wrong with the present offering, please email me for collobaring on an interesting alternative.