Obligatory reminder that correlation is not causation - even if you provide data demonstrating a correlation, which you haven't. To me it looks like the rise i

Obligatory reminder that correlation is not causation - even if you provide data demonstrating a correlation, which you haven't. To me it looks like the rise in obesity could roughly map to the rise in depression and anxiety, though I have no data on that and I make no assertions on the causality, should they turn out to be correlated. I comment every time I see the obesity/calories topic come up because it's something I've been deeply researching and experimenting with for years and I can't let misconceptions and falsehoods go without a response. To avoid letting this get into a lengthy back-and-forth, I'll just state what I understand and move on. Yes, food/calorie intake and expenditure is partly a choice, but it is a choice that is profoundly complicated by many factors, including but not limited to: diagnosed or undiagnosed illness, pre-exisiting nutritional levels, genetics/epigenetic expression, emotions/hormones/neurological issues, social influence, culture, financial constraints, time constraints and more. Obviously, letting one's self go is not something that most people freely choose to do or enjoy doing. Some work harder than others to avoid it. Some succeed, and some fail even if they work hard at it. Usually when I get into a back-and-forth discussion about this topic, the co-debater will resort to something like "I don't have all the answers but everyone can try harder to cut calories". We'd all be better off if people simply stuck to the shorter, humbler version: "I don't have the answers." Anyone who does have answers could contact their nearest metabolic research institution.