ABSTRACT
This chapter dispels at least one major myth about human obesity: the idea that obesity comes about largely, if not entirely, by optional overeating, that is, a personal decision to savor the good tastes of food. It persuades the reader that the Erewhon approach to obesity is neither helpful nor correct. The chapter argues, however, that obesity can occur only on a certain biological template, the creation of which has preceded the abundance of food or food-related behaviors. The central issue of obesity is why some individuals maintain a storage of fat that is fixed at a level higher than normal. Certain considerations lead one to believe that this condition must occur as a result of faulty operation of a normal regulation of stored fat. The existence of genetic obesity in experimental animals is perhaps the single most startling experimental observation that suggests that more than just human craving for pleasure is involved in the causation of human obesity.
