Weight loss is a multibillion-dollar industry.

Everywhere we turn, there are weight loss programs, weight loss supplements, weight loss advertisements, and weight loss influencers.

And the entire industry is built on the idea that, through dieting and exercise, we can lose weight.

While there may be some truth to that—and there is certainly value in investing energy into weight gain prevention—significant weight loss might actually be scientifically near-impossible.

Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt explains the biological barriers to losing weight and explores what we can do about these challenges in her TED Talk, “Why dieting doesn’t usually work.” I found it to be extremely insightful and would recommend it to, well, everyone.