wrote:

Matt Whiting wrote:


Nope, simply observation over time, knowing from labor statistics the
kinds of jobs we have now compared to 30 or 40 years ago. We have fewer
farm, manufacturing, heavy labor, etc., jobs and more desk jobs, service
jobs, etc.


All true, but how do you explain skinny people that are sedentary and
don't diet? Although rare by comparison, they do exist in measurable
numbers.

I was talking about the GENERAL obesity problem in the US, not any
particular person. Sure, there are all sorts of medical conditions that
can cause weight gain or loss. I never said otherwise.


I know a woman who is about 40 years old who, to this day, constantly
has to show ID to buy any kind of alcoholic beverage. She looks like
a 16 year old girl. She diets, but it is a special diet to try to
GAIN weight. She has as much trouble gaining as most everybody else
has losing. She doesn't have anorexia or the like, she's just plain
skinny.

Sure, I know people like that. And if you look at what they eat during
the day, they simply don't eat enough to ovecome what they burn. This
is simply chemistry and physics. The calories just don't disappear into
thin air. I'll bet you a steak dinner that she isn't eating 3,000
calories a day. The only "diet" you need to gain weight is a diet where
you eat more than your body consumes. I would hope that her doctors
have ruled out any medical condition that would cause her food to not be
broken down properly in her stomach or absorbed properly through her
intestines. Obviously, if there is a medical problem like that, then
changing diet probably won't have much affect.


There is no question that a sedentary lifestyle is a factor, but its
not the only factor. The odds are, most of the people reading this
know of a person similar to the woman described above.

Gee, Dennis, where did I ever say it was the only factor?


Matt