Overweight? Maybe it is genetic says new research featured in the NY Times.

One of the best businesses to be in is the weight loss business. People lose the weight and in most cases, gain it back and then revisit to lose it again. The battle of the bulge is frustrating for those who wish to stay lighter and healthier because it requires a lifestyle change, a change in the way we eat, the types of foods we eat and the portions we eat. What if, we were pre programmed to eat poorly and certain foods that were fattening were eaten because of genetic trait?

The NY Times explores..

Overweight? Maybe You Really Can Blame Your Genes

y GINA KOLATA

Published: July 18, 2013

The mice were eating their usual chow and exercising normally, but they were getting fat anyway. The reason: researchers had deleted a gene that acts in the brain and controls how quickly calories are burned. Even though they were consuming exactly the same number of calories as lean mice, they were gaining weight.

So far, only one person — a severely obese child — has been found to have a disabling mutation in the same gene. But the discovery of the same effect in mice and in the child — a finding published Wednesday in the journal Science — may help explain why some people put on weight easily while others eat all they want and seem never to gain an ounce. It may also offer clues to a puzzle in the field of obesity: Why do studies find that people gain different amounts of weight while overeating by the same amount?

Scientists have long thought explanations for why some people get fat might lie in their genes. They knew body weight was strongly inherited. Years ago, for example, they found that twins reared apart tended to have similar weights and adoptees tended to have weights like their biological parents, not the ones who reared them. As researchers developed tools to look for the actual genes, they found evidence that many — maybe even hundreds — of genes may be involved, stoking appetites, making people voraciously hungry.