http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061220/...esity_microbes
I hope this link works. It was on Yahoo news today. It is about how scientists have discovered more types of a certan bacteria in the guts of overweight people than in other people. It might explain why some of us gain so easily and others don't while eating the same foods.

Sherry, I read a post on this yesterday. I used to think that I didn't eat "that much" and gained weight horribly fast. I now know it wasn't always the amount that I ate, but what I ate. I lived on McDonalds, Braum's , Taco Bell and KFC. I have also always believed that since I was so athletic in high school with basketball , swimming and tennis that when I went to college and my lifestyle changed to no exercise except chugging beer with my friends and studying that this new sedentary lifestyle caused a lot of my wt. problems. During college beer and pizza was my sustenance.

I found it interesting that they aren't sure if the increased bacteria in the guts of overweight people is a result of their obesity or is helping to cause the obesity. Make sense? With me, I probably had an excess of the bacteria from all the junk fermenting in my gut.

It would be nice if they science could figure out a way to help people overcome obesity.(short of proper diet and exercise). I don't think it'll happen in my lifetime, so I'll keep LCing to keep my wt. in check.

I agree, it isn't how much, it is what we eat. I too suspect the bacteria is a result rather than the cause of the overweight. Still it is interesting that some people in the same family can eat the same things and yet some are overweight and some are not. I always wonder about that a bit. My son and I are heavier and inclined to be heavy. My daughter and husband are rail thin, both of them. It isn't a difference of what we eat since we mostly eat the same things. There is a difference in body structure. My son and I are packed solid with muscle and larger bones as well as extra fat, while hubby and daughter are petite, low muscle and light bones.

Whether other differences exist I don't know. It is interesting though.