> According to Gina Kolata's latest book -- Rethinking Thin: The New
> Science of Weight Loss--and the Myths and Realities of Dieting -- Not
> even exercise and reduced calories will help in the long run. The
> body will force you to readjust to the new weight by slowing down your
> metabolism until you gain back the weight. Essentially her argument
> is that practically _all_ scientific studies show that people have a
> rate range of about 20 pounds and that range cannot be changed by
> dieting and exercise. She is not saying that this range is genetic --
> though that is part of it --- but apparently factors like if your
> mother smoked while she was pregnant and whether your mother was
> restricted in her calorie intake while you were pregnant are huge
> factors in obesity.
>
> Let me repeat, her claim is that practically all of the scientific
> evidence shows that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, you can do
> by diet and exercise to effect your weight-range in the long run. But
> that exercise makes everyone healthy. But if you want to be at the
> lower end of your weight range, a lot of exercise and a change in the
> kinds of foods you eat will help.
This is probably true to some extent, but what if you lose weight and have a new set point and range for your base weight? I'm skeptical that this is etched in stone, given that Americans are flooded with so many calories these days.
I'll bet that my mother smoked when she was pregnant with me, but I'll bet that my base weiught range would be much lower if I hadn't been exposed to the last 30+ years of the American diet.
Chuck