What is 70% genetics is a person's potential weight gain. In other words, my genetic pattern determines that I can get up to, say, 250 pounds, while someone else's won't let her get up to more than 170. Whether we do or not is based on a large array of factors, only one of which is the patient's attitude towards weight. Stress, lack of sleep, boredom, anxiety, happiness (or lack of it), income - all these contribute, some of them more than a person' attitude. I think you can tell I consider the weight thing as we see it in America as a boondoggle, a way for unscrupulous people to make a killing on the insecurities of a populace that is kept uneducated and in the dark about the health care system.

The entire thing requires an overhaul. Along with shifting to preventive care, there will have to be a change in many other things - the food industry, the way we work, sleep, socialize. All of it. My opinion is that we have to start with the GP's because people really need someone in their lives who knows not only about the human body, but specifically their human bodies, and can guide them in how to keep theirs running well.