Reinhard Hunger for The New York Times

AS AMERICANS become fatter and fatter — a study published in July revealed that obesity rates increased in 23 states last year and declined in none — a select group of men and women under the watchful care of medical professionals have spent the past few years becoming thinner and thinner. There are 132 of them, located in and around Boston, St. Louis and Baton Rouge, La. All are enrolled in a large clinical trial that is financed by the National Institutes of Health and known as Calerie, which stands for Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy. A few years ago, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Tufts in Boston and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge began recruiting subjects to examine what happens to people who reduce their daily calories by 25 percent for two years. Admissions are rolling, so not all recruits begin and end at the same time. A few of the early participants, in fact, have just completed their two-year stint. The final recruits began their regimens last month.

This article points toward a whole new way of thinking about food, nutrition and our eating habits. MJ and I have posted our views and experience over the last few years.