Well, it's a nice rationalization, but the only reason people are overweight is because they ate more calories than they burned.
It is unfathomable to me to see so much crap from so many about something so freaking simple. If you want to lose weight, eat less than you burn. It aint freakin rocket science.
Indeed, it is precisely because it is so simple that such lunacy prevails. It takes a smart and moral populace to handle the simple truth. But we are not good and we are not smart and so we are treated to crap like this from Morton Kondracke. Go to hell, Mort. You whore yourself out, in a few hundred words, as the pure voice of the dark side, the devil, and the laughably dumb all at once.
Nutrition is like politics and religion -- conversation goes ugly early. Weight loss, on the other hand, is far from politics and religion. Weight loss is pure, simple, utterly proven, and proved again, science. I say it again, with more feeling this time: Go to hell, Morton Kondracke! You are not fit to be an american with such rubbish as this article.
You said:
"Well, it's a nice rationalization, but the only reason people are overweight is because they ate more calories than they burned."
While technically true, there can be extenuating circumstances, as in medications, disease processes, hormonal imbalances, etc.
http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/treatments/a/WeightGain.htm
Another reason is that the formula is just that ridiculous 'Twiggy' chart reduced to a formula. It makes no allowance for muscle mass, just assumes you are heavy with fat.
Just like abstinence, diet and exercise works every time it is tried. But for the truly obese (not just overweight) exercise can be strenuous on your heart and joints. That's why I recommend exercising in the swimming pool as a first step. You don't have to swim. Just walk along the bottom. Just keep moving. The water will support the weight so you can build up endurance and begin slimming down.