"And have you noticed that children born of fatter parents are more likely to be fat, even though the offspring born when the parents were svelt are more likely to be svelt. A statistical observation not a guarranteed result."

This sounds like hearsay - point me to a ref that gives any evidence to back this observation up. The kids are fat becuase their parents eat more, of the wrong foods and exercise less. Having this gene means you're a bit more likely to be fat if you eat the wrong stuff - this gene does not make you fat. Has this gene suddenly appeared? Does it exist in the same percentage of the population of India or Bangladesh or Kenya?

Some people certainly do have medical reasons for being fat, whether they are physical or psychological but this doesn't explain why the US and UK is filling up with wobblebottoms, all looking for excuses to keep eating, hence the large number of people who are rejoicing their weight is not their fault.

As a bit of a lardy myself, I know when I diet and do exercise I loose weight. It gets more difficult to shift as I get older but I recognise that basically if I eat lots of the wrong stuff and stay sat on my arse I get fatter, full stop.