I am both saddened and confused by this report. as if the aliments listed are exclusive to the obese.

I had a brother who died at the age of 47 and was a vegetarian and always looked thin not ever a hint of chubbyness.{heart attck?}

another brother had a heart attack at 46 and was a body-builder and woodsman, hiker and never more than a 34 waist
He had a by-pass after he had damage to his heart; he was devoted to no, none nada fat, be it in meat or vegetables. He ate wheat berry for breakfast, turned away from beef and turned to fruit and vegetables mainly with salmon and other fish as a staple. No cheese, no nuts, not even an avacado.
He had a second heart by-pass and recently a stent place in an 99% occluded artery.

family genes, you say? Mother and father died after reaching their 84th year. Father's father lived until he was well in his nineties; father's brother lived to be 101; sisters lived till their late nineties;
so by all accounts their genes do not seem particularly bad.
none of these people were morbidly overweight.

On the other hand I after battleing overwweight but maintaing a decent body size most of my life, went on a carbhydrate starvation protein liquid diet when it was the fad. Now at 70 Iam morbidly over weight and have been trying not to become diabetic, as I'm told will happen.

I do not overeat, I am not a pig out; I don't drink and I don't smoke now. But I think smoking for a short time and dieting all the time has done some thing to my body. I never took illegal drugs and lived a semi celebate life.

But I think the thing most common to all of the people mentioned was that we all loved sweets. Cake and pastries was a family prize, sharing our baked goods with all.

I am not going to take this one more crack at making me feel defeated before I finish using my new information. That sugar and sugar carbs and perhaps my own over production of insulin during my lifetime, has caused me to become fatter than ever in my golden years.

This is one report they didn't have to spend any money on.

Those of you trying as I am, don't give up! And those that have been successful in getting their weight down, don't give up thinking that you did not buy additional years better equiped to handle what may come along latter in life.

forgive the rage and long winded thoughts