Yeah this is the standard dogma from nutritionists, it's all about energy balance. Calories in and out.
Turns out the simple sugars cause a biochemical response. That in simple terms, causes the body to store more sugar as fat. So it's complicated, and people aren't really asking the right questions.
Taubes has a bunch of case studies of populations suddenly getting a western diet (he singles out sugar, but it could be other stuff too.) and then 10-20 years later there is an explosion of obesity and type II diabetes. Standard dogma is obesity is the cause. He (Taubes) suggests obesity is the effect, the result of excess sugar consumption.
He makes a fairly convincing case, and given how screwed up our diet is....
We took out a lot of fat and replaced it with sugar. Obesity and diabetes continue to increase.
George H.