Another Agent for Obesity — Will This Time Be Different?

Over the past few decades, obesity has become a global epidemic that affects diverse societies across developed and developing countries. Obesity rates correlate well with recent developments such as incessant enticements to sit and an unprecedented availability, at low or no cost, of foods and beverages rich in poorly satiating calories. These rapid environmental changes interact with preexisting genetic tendencies, yet in a timescale so brief as to outstrip evolution.What is wrong with obesity? Extra weight once indicated prosperity and was considered to be attractive. But now we know that overnutrition and underexertion beget a cluster of seemingly unrelated . . .