Gina Kolata recently wrote an article in the NY Times emphasizing the genetic components of overweight and obesity; the headline—Genes Take Charge, and Diets Fall by the Wayside—pretty much sums it up. Kolata covers her behind by saying that behavior and environment do affect your build/weight, but it's quite de-emphasized, and somebody looking to get a quick answer from the article might well miss that toward the end she does cite some researchers' estimation that "70 percent of the variation in peoples’ weights may be accounted for by inheritance," which leaves 30 percent of the variation to other factors.
Now John Horgan posts a response from Ellen Ruppel Shell, a science journalist who writes a lot about food and obesity. She disagrees with Kolata's argument, or at least her emphasis, pointing out examples where cultural practices clearly affect rates of obesity. (Unfortunately, Shell doesn't throw out a number for how ...
