We could also give incentives to prisoners for participating in health related studies. It gets a really bad wrap because of historical abuses, but it could re

We could also give incentives to prisoners for participating in health related studies. It gets a really bad wrap because of historical abuses, but it could really be a win/win. All the prisoners would need to be separated and lose access to the commissary. They would probably be willing to trade their commissary for access to an XBox in their cell or something similar. Then we can control exactly what they eat, and measure the effects of a calorie surplus or deficit over time. We could even give prisoners the same amount of calories but different macros, to finally prove the effects of a long term ketogenic diet are different than just calorie restriction. The food would have to be more palatable than what they receive now, and they would have to agree to consume 100% of it and not try and trade with other prisoners. This probably involves a guard who watches them eat in their cells. It would be costly, but not nearly as expensive as the controlled environment studies in a hospital (metabolic wards) that Gary Taubes has done before.