How Fat Happens
| The Case for Genes | The Case for Environment | |
| Studies show that weights of adopted children more closely resemble those of their biological rather than adoptive parents, raising the possibility that genes trump the environment. | Lab animals given a junk-food diet gain weight. People moving to the U.S. from less-obese countries gain weight and people moving from the U.S. tend to lose weight. |
Full article on the causes of obesity.
I think the proclivity starts in the genes and the environment makes thing worse.
Genes probably matter a lot. But in admitting that are we letting people off the hook for conscious decisions they make?
The causes of obesity are multifaceted and very complex. Some people are slender despite having a genetic predisposition to put on weight; while other people are probably heavy while not have a predisposition to gain weight.
Occasionally you see a family where one kid is skinny while another is fat. For the sake of argument, let’s say the heavier kid eats noticeably more than the skinny offspring. The bigger appetite could have a genetic basis. Or a genetic condition could cause the heavier kid’s stomach take longer to notify his or her brain that it’s full.
If the government is really concerned about eliminating obesity, it should stop subsidizing high fructose corn syrup via farm subsidies.
Also, I’m not so sure that I agree with the premise that fattening food is cheaper than healthy food. A head of romaine lettuce is $1.50 at Kroger right now. That’s enough to make 2 big salads.
I submit that the issue is having time or inclination to prepare the meal. It’s much easier to buy a burger and fries to eat in the car than it is to prepare a meal.
Virginia, meat and dairy producs are subsidized much more heavily than vegetables.
And also more than fruits.
The obesity article is maddeningly obtuse.
First, a lot of adult adoptees don’t know their biological parents’ height or weight. How representative were the samples of the studies that are supposedly being referred to?
Second, what exactly is “junk food?” And how do we know that “junk food” for rats is the same as whatever is defined today as junk food for people?
Third, how does one control for the possibility that people moving to the US gain weight because they were leaving countries where they had less opportunity and therefore less to eat?