The prime culprits behind the obesity epidemic in the United States are not junk foods like soda, chips, candy, fast food and startchy foods, according to a new research.

University Herald reported that a team of researchers from Cornell University have found out that eating junk food is unrelated to the body mass index (BMI) in 95 percent of U.S. adults.

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According to the researchers, the real problem is that too many Americans eat too much. Lead researcher David Just said we need to reassess our overall diet and physical activity in order to effect any changes.

Just, who is the co-director of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Ithaca, New York, added that "diets and health campaigns aiming at reducing and preventing obesity may be off the track if they hinge on demonizing specific foods." He mentioned that some foods are clearly bad for the body and if eaten too much will make one fat. Junk food is generally not good for the body.

A nationally representative sample of adults in the United States were reviewed for the study by Just and his colleague Brian Wansink, who is the director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. Those who were chronically underweight and those who were morbidly obese were exception to the study because they belong on the extreme ends of the BMI.

They researchers found out that the consumption of soda, candy, and fast food is not associated to BMI for 95 percent of the population and that no significant difference is seen between healthy-weight and overweight individuals who consume them, thus the conclusion that junk food does not cause weight problems.

Overall consumption patterns should be examined so that clinicians and practitioners can help their patients obtain a healthy weight instead of eliminating junk foods from patient's diets. The key to losing weight is diet and exercise.

More details on the findings can be found in the edition of the journal 'Obesity Science & Practice,' which was published on Thursday, Nov. 5.

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