[maratd]

> The laws of physics apply to all people.

Yes they do. Ever consider this possibility?

Your body is immensely complex, can rid itself of toxins, pathogens, and other invaders ... but is not able to discard excess calories it doesn't need? To the point of making you sick and immobile?

That makes sense to you? That our body doesn't have a regulation mechanism?

Or perhaps it's more likely that it works in some people and is broken in others. Yes, starving yourself will always work. So will increasing exertion. But so will fixing that regulation mechanism. Just because we don't know how is hardly enough reason to discard the possibility.

[qbrass]

>Your body is immensely complex, can rid itself of toxins, pathogens, and other invaders ... but is not able to discard excess calories it doesn't need? To the point of making you sick and immobile?

>That makes sense to you? That our body doesn't have a regulation mechanism?

It's so new of a concept, that evolution hasn't had to select for it for more than a few generations, while 99.9999999% of your evolution has favored gathering as many calories as possible.

[maratd]

I realize it's fashionable to believe all of our ancestors were starving all the time, but there isn't exactly any evidence to back this up.

We're a social species with status playing a substantial role. It's far more likely some were starving and others were extremely well fed. Same as today. That would mean there was plenty of selective pressure over millions of years. Look at other primates for evidence.

[Shorel]

It also has a lot to do with population size.

We have never been more than some tens of millions until relatively now. So, there was more than plenty of food for all of us.

In fact, if there's one thing where we have had no time for any evolutive adaptation, is our current population size.

[korethr]

Of course the body has a regulation mechanism related to energy intake and usage. However, that doesn't mean that mechanism can't be overwhelmed or made to work in non-optimal ways.

Yes, your body can purge itself of toxins. But despite this, intake toxins faster than your body can purge itself of them, those toxins will still cause damage. Why should this not apply to the body's energy regulation mechanisms as well?

[maratd]

Yes, I completely agree.

It is entirely possible that by consuming poor quality food (rotten, junk, infested with parasites/chemicals/etc.) the regulation mechanism is overwhelmed or broken.

It is also possible it's through a genetic defect. An environmental toxin. A virus or bacteria. A bazillion other alternatives that our level science cannot detect or explain.

My point is that when you see an obese person, the response shouldn't be lazy/stupid/eat less/diet/exercise more. It should be sick/needs research/treatment.

Simple over-eating should be 100% regulated by our bodies and the excess material discarded. It should NOT be a problem. But it IS. Something is poisoning us. Rather than blaming the sick, we should find out WHAT that is.

[Zergy]

> Your body is immensely complex, can rid itself of toxins, pathogens, and other invaders ... but is not able to discard excess calories it doesn't need? To the point of making you sick and immobile? That makes sense to you? That our body doesn't have a regulation mechanism?

Umm.... You are aware that this state of a ton of food being very easy to procure is a recent development right? For a vast majority of the body's evolution food as very rare which resulted in being able to conserve energy optimally being ideal. Evolution is a sum of the entire species past, why are you thinking it makes sense for the body to self regulate its self to a six pack?