My radar is always alert to extremely obese people--and equally sensitive to thin or petite people (women particularly). The question is Why? both ways. Surely genetics are involved. In a flock of ten kids on any playground, there will be one or two "fat" ones. Do they eat differently from their peers? I doubt it.

That's why standards like BMI are so discouraging. Many people can never meet the goal, or sustain the goal, no matter how hard they try. That applies also to things like counting calories, intensifying exercise, and switching from one "diet" to the next. Mother Nature fights back.

To your question: When did you get fat?

Episode One: Normal-size adolescent, pear-shaped, on the chubby side. Was privileged to be given an exchange student scholarship to New Zealand. The experience was wonderful. But the combination of stress (cortisol?) and menu (lots of lamb, and butter, and cream) caused me to gain thirty pounds in eight months. When I came home and returned to regular diet (well, modified to remove starchy stuff, as advised by my mom), I went back to my previous normal size in a short time.

Episode Two: Young married person, looking to stay as attractive as possible. Tried stuff like the Stillman Diet (all meat!), Weight Watchers, early Atkins. Everything works for a while. I started running, and eventually ran a full marathon. Achieved my lowest weight ever, but not necessarily the healthiest.

Episode Three: Mid-career. Tired of cooking. Tired of trying. Nosedive into the Fast Food Diet: Colonel Sanders, Arthur Treacher's, Papa John's, and all the other gurus of grisly cuisine you can think of. Scream Weight? 192 lbs.

With the help of a doctor and drugs that turned out to be extremely dangerous, I lost 50lbs in a year, and continued on a low-fat/low-calorie routine until I could hardly stand it. Also MAJOR exercise.

Episode Four: Atkins Round Two. This time seriously. To be continued!!

In short, if your body is disposed to put on weight for whatever reason, it will. You can't be complacent. You can't give up. You have to find an eating lifestyle you enjoy. Punishment doesn't work. But low-carb for life? Could be.