A very interesting article

[velvetpage]

About a very old study that nevertheless proves something most fat people would love to believe: obesity is mostly genetically determined and cannot be controlled by willpower as it is applied to diet or exercise.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-weve-came-to-believe-that.html

Comments

[kisekileia.livejournal.com]

I remember that study from social psych class. It really struck me that the participants had such serious adverse effects from a relatively low level of calorie deprivation compared to what many people who are dieting subject themselves to. This particular article still begs the question of why there has been such a huge increase in obesity over the past few decades, but I strongly suspect there's an environmental explanation. (I've seen studies suggesting a link with sleep problems, though plenty of thin people have sleep problems and some heavy people sleep well.) I find people's inclination to blame any human characteristic they don't like on free will and lack of effort thoroughly repugnant.