The amount of unconscious junk science in this NYT article is staggering.
Note the underlying assumption: that calorie counting is useful, that burning calories (i.e., exercise) is useful, and that the type of calories you consume is irrelevant. And it’s all about the weight (they didn’t mention BMI, but I’ll bet they were measuring it). Did any of them do strength training? Because exchanging muscle for fat will increase metabolism.
Science was already trending to a low carb diet by the 1950s. It’s fine to get science wrong. But when smarty pants who think they know what’s best for us use their power to force everyone into their point of view, that’s when we get into problems.
http://www.ketoisland.com/news/eat-fat-and-grow-slim-1958/