Every gram of body weight needs energy to stay alive. If you are in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight until your energy expenditure matches the caloric intake.
If you stay in "caloric deficit" forever you will actually starve by definition.
Properly defining what you mean (comparatively low caloric intake without defining it via the current weight) is actually quite tricky, as your height, body composition and physical activities are all inputs to what counts as a "normal" caloric intake.
Since we're selling them the disease and the cure, and society has to pay for both
What about all the other way to solve the problems and improve their lives? It's like people who think you cure depression by lifelong antidepressant treatment...