This is an interesting, although somewhat depressing, article. It raises an issue or two that I cannot understand. It says "The researchers concluded that 70 percent of the variation in peoples' weights might be accounted for by inheritance, a figure that means that weight is more strongly inherited than nearly any other condition, including mental illness, *** cancer or heart disease."
We know that even as little as 20-30 years ago Americans weren't so tubby. How could all this have changed so suddenly? It would seem to me that if we can so dramatically change our size in a generation or two upwards, it could be reversed also. Not all of the fat people today had fat parents, most probably had thin parents, until recent times. This seems to poke some holes in the 70% inheritance theory, although I cringe often seeing a very overweight child with huge parents.
The article also states, "each person has a comfortable weight range to which the body gravitates." How can this be true, given something like 60% of Americans are obese? There is nothing comfortable about obesity, it is hard on the body.
This is an interesting, although somewhat depressing, article. It raises an issue or two that I cannot understand. It says "The researchers concluded that 70 percent of the variation in peoples' weights might be accounted for by inheritance, a figure that means that weight is more strongly inherited than nearly any other condition, including mental illness, *** cancer or heart disease."
We know that even as little as 20-30 years ago Americans weren't so tubby. How could all this have changed so suddenly? It would seem to me that if we can so dramatically change our size in a generation or two upwards, it could be reversed also. Not all of the fat people today had fat parents, most probably had thin parents, until recent times. This seems to poke some holes in the 70% inheritance theory, although I cringe often seeing a very overweight child with huge parents.
The article also states, "each person has a comfortable weight range to which the body gravitates." How can this be true, given something like 60% of Americans are obese? There is nothing comfortable about obesity, it is hard on the body.
