I've noticed that discussions about the thermodynamics of weight loss almost invariably neglect to mention environmental temperature, focussing instead on diet

I've noticed that discussions about the thermodynamics of weight loss almost invariably neglect to mention environmental temperature, focussing instead on diet and exercise. The prevailing paradigm is that exercise "burns calories". But if you look at the actual numbers, the number of calories burned is fairly insignificant compared to basal metabolism; as the article states, running an entire marathon only burns about 2500 calories.