Other researchers are trying to figure out to what extent genetic differences increase the risk of gaining weight. Articles on appetite control appear every week in scientific journals, and almost every article ends with a hopeful phrase that the new research will lead to anti-obesity medications. This is survival of a species. And that energy goes out when it is used to build muscles, run or walk, lift a finger, or simply to stay alive. Fat per se is not the enemy, he said.
Energy balance is the enemy.
The control center for energy balance, scientists believe, is the hypothalamus, buried deep within the brain. Scientists first realized how important the hypothalamus was by studying the brains of laboratory animals. Disrupting one region of the hypothalamus caused animals to gorge and gain weight. Disrupting another caused animals to eat less and lose weight. Understanding the hypothalamus is a challenge.