Do Our Genes Make Us Fat?

Every now and then I'll get into the are we fat because God made us fat debate. The NY Times Published an interesting article on the subject yesterday. Oh, and for the record I know I'm fat because of Twinkies.

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Genes Take Charge, and Diet Falls by the Wayside

By GINA KOLATA
Published: May 8, 2007

"His subjects were prisoners at a nearby state prison who volunteered to gain weight. With great difficulty, they succeeded, increasing their weight by 20 percent to 25 percent. But it took them four to six months, eating as much as they could every day. Some consumed 10,000 calories a day, an amount so incredible that it would be hard to believe, were it not for the fact that there were attendants present at each meal who dutifully recorded everything the men ate.

Once the men were fat, their metabolisms increased by 50 percent. They needed more than 2,700 calories per square meter of their body surface to stay fat but needed just 1,800 calories per square meter to maintain their normal weight.

When the study ended, the prisoners had no trouble losing weight. Within months, they were back to normal and effortlessly stayed there."

Link To Full Article