Everybody's fat all over the country, and I have been so myself a few times, so I can harp without being a hypocrite (and will be again soon if I don't follow my New Year's Resolution.)
Excersise, don't eat junk, don't drink beer, and you lose weight.
Works everytime.
I know people with a different metabolism who can't gain weight, so what? They got lucky, IMHO, though they complain about their plight.
Quit smoking 13 years ago too, without government help or any advice from government funded addiction research.
I don't mind spending money on serious problems such as cancer, heart disease, flu pandemics, etc..
Government money will never solve a doughnut problem without a dictatorship that feeds citizens a prescribed issued diet and forced exercise.
In a free society, it is up to the individual to control his/her weight, whether the scienctists know what makes people that way or not.
You might be right -- maybe no amount of research and knowledge can help this problem. Still, since this problem is costing us trillions, I don't mind a few million here and there for research -- maybe they'll find something that helps at least a few people.