re: “Obesity not caused by lack of willpower - psychologists”

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There's a billion ways to speed up your metabolism, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, A PILL FROM VITAMIN SHOPPE ISN'T ONE OF THEM.

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Last i checked, caffeine, ephedra, and aspirin still works fairly well for speeding up your metabolism.

I truly don't know the answer. Younger me always thought it was just willpower, older me wonders. I am a physician, I'm 51 and fit. I am fit because I watch my diet every single day, and exercise is a part of my day every single day. I pay close attention to caloric intake and deny my self candy, pastries, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc because I want to be fit and I want to give myself the best chance to be healthy for the latter years of my life.

Part of me says it is a simple equation, but if that is the case, then so many people that I see that are anywhere from a little fat to out and out crazy fat are lying to me about eating and exercise habits, so I do still have some doubt that it is purely a simple equation, even though the simple equation has obviously worked for me. I can tell you from real experience that readily identified biochemical abnormalities (ie thyroid problems or hormonal disturbances) are involved in only a very small portion of cases.

My educated feeling is that the calories in/out equation works, but there is a sliding scale as to how well it works in different people. I think for some people it is more difficult and some people it's pretty easy and simple, and I think the fatter a person becomes, the more hopeless the situation feels and that surely adds to the difficulty. The other educated opinion I have is that type of calories matter and that is a whole other discussion, though I do subscribe to the belief that our USDA pyramid should be turned upside down.

Correlational studies cannot imply cause and effect. They can only imply relationships. Independent and dependent variables cannot be identified nor can confounding/extraneous be well controlled.