Obesity, Fat, Taste and Missing the Point

The Scientist had an article on fat, taste, an why we are seeing more obesity. Now one must always remember two things:

Input-Output = Net Accumulation

and

3500 cal = 1 pound

These are constants of nature. Eat too much and you get fat. Will power exists, especially in humans, delayed gratification has been around for years, forgoing the candy bar has been a cornerstone of good health, at least until now. Finding some exogenous factor other than ourselves to blame for the problem has become the status quo. It is the environment, genes, a disease, whatever. It never is our own weakness.

The Scientist states:

People the world over are getting fatter. Today more than one-third of adults in the United States are obese, and the rates in other industrialized countries are catching up. Obesity is no longer considered a condition particular to affluent societies—it has now spread to developing nations such as China and India, resulting in a global health crisis. According to the World Health Organization, 500 million adults worldwide are now obese, and this number is expected to climb well into the foreseeable future. Obesity is so problematic because it poses serious threats to personal health and well-being. Obese people are at an increased risk of chronic and potentially debilitating diseases such as cardiovascular disease and stroke, certain forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and asthma, among others. And the impact of obesity on an individual’s work and family life can be far-reaching, affecting a person’s employability, work productivity, and ability to pursue interests and activities of daily life.

All true, but, they continue:

A great deal of progress has been made in identifying the genes that may contribute to obesity. According to recent estimates, 135 different candidate genes have been linked with obesity and the eating patterns associated with it. Except for a handful of single-gene mutations that produce extreme obesity, the common, everyday form that we typically encounter on a city street probably reflects very modest contributions from each of a large number of individual genes.

 It is NOT the genes fault. It is lack of will power period. Blame not the gene, blame the person. The gene approach is another excuse generating solution which results in more medication for a problem which really does not exist. They are just fat, so stop eating. A human can survive 90 days with water and no food, just burning their stores. So as a New Year's resolution, shut the mouth now.