...but not that simple. Starving yourself (or dropping to a very low calorie intake is counter-productive.)
Yeah, because then your body just saves the fat, and eats the muscles instead. If you're starving yourself, the first thing your body is going to save is the fat tissue.
Anyway, being fat is hardly a disease, at least in 99.95% of the cases. I should start a new 100% guaranteed weight loss retreat program. Send them to a small village in Kenya somewhere for a year, and I bet they lose weight.