[A CA Guy]

There were no fat people coming out of the POW camps in WW2.

Eat a lot, gain weight.

[Gondring]

Yet "not eating a lot" doesn't solve the problem. Try being productive while not eating--it's like someone tapping you on the shoulder constantly, saying "you have to eat." If genetic differences, for example, mean that some people will be distracted while eating less, then they have a choice--be low-productivity, or consume more.

Now that it's being shown that viral infection may be another connection to obesity (and hunger feelings), it can be that a specific population may be more prone to requiring excess food intake to sate hunger pangs--thus, regional or "culturally specific epidemic obesity."

It's not as simple as "certain people have no self-control while others do"...