Overweight? Maybe Your Genes Really Are at Fault

Gary Taubes covers similar previous research in both of his nutrition-related books, so it's not like this is some out-of-the-blue discovery, except perhaps to an underinformed newspaper writer.

 

What's weird, to me, is that every single one of us accepts the premise that some people are just naturally gifted athletes or that some people are just born skinny or that some people have these crazy high metabolisms that keeps them skinny.

But if you say some people are born fat and stay that way, that premise can't be accepted.

It is, fat people can get skinny as long as they work out and don't eat 20 Twinkies every day.

That argument is likely to be led by a fat person who is now skinny.

Weird.

 

Sure it can be accepted: For the 0.004%* of people who truly fit that description.

Not for the 63.6%* of overweight people that would love to claim it, however.

And no matter how "gifted" these athletes are, it means nothing without the tens of thousands of hours they devote to honing their gifts. Success in most things takes a lot of work and discipline.

The not-so-gifted athlete has to work harder to beat the gifted one. And we've seen many times that he does.

The "born overweight" person has to work harder to maintain a healthy weight. And for all but the unkucky .004%*, they can do it, too.

* Percentages pulled completely out of my ass