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Although I unfortunately had to leave class a few minutes early, I was able to take part in our discussion of weight and set points. This intrigued me, especially when the concept of obesity was brought up. It was difficult for me to accept that certain individuals had an obese set point, or that their bodies actually wanted them to carry that weight.

After coming home I discussed the concept of a set point with my parents and family friends one night at dinner. Someone suggested that perhaps, in fact, there is no obesity epidemic at all. Rather, she said, society has changed its of definition of obesity. She noted that movie stars have gotten thinner, sizing on jeans has changed, and, in general, our culture’s perception of thinness has become increasingly smaller. That night I became more comfortable with the idea that the obesity epidemic may be, in part, media hype.

However, I was, and still am, puzzled by the idea that two individuals of the same height can have completely different weight set points. I read an article in the New York Times, titled Fat Factors (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/magazine/13obesity.html?pagewanted=7&ei=5070&en=4e84b02d01d42fa9&ex=1173675600), which shed some light on this. The article explained that weight is maintained by the number of calories an individual ingests and the amount of calories an individual burns. It went on to suggest that some people’s metabolisms are designed to survive in harsher environments. These individuals can maintain a healthy weight while ingesting a fewer amount of calories and burning the same amount of calories as their peers. The article also suggested that certain viruses could potentially be responsible for making people fat. These viruses are found all over, and are unavoidable as people begin to acquire them at birth. Although studies are not yet conclusive, they show that not all individuals end up with the viruses that have been shown to cause obesity. Thus, could these viruses affect set point? Are all people born with the same set points, only to have them changed due to outside agents?

If these viruses are the culprits causing set point change, is there a possibility for them to be treated or prevented? Also, can traumatic events in an individual’s life change their set point? If so, is it possible for their set point to ever return to its original place? And, if this is the case, then if set points can constantly change, are they really set at all? It seems to me that weight is a highly fluid aspect of human development, and that in order to maintain it, it must constantly be watched.