I think (or hope) he meant epigenetics. There's increasing evidence that epigenetic changes in parents can be passed to, or at least cause other epigenetic cha

I think (or hope) he meant epigenetics. There's increasing evidence that epigenetic changes in parents can be passed to, or at least cause other epigenetic changes in, children, in an almost Lamarkian way. However, I think the article is saying, "In the long run, for whatever reason, statistically speaking, 95% of people revert to their high water mark of weight, nullifying their previous efforts at weight loss." This strikes me as utterly uncontroversial, aside from our widespread want to be among the 5%. And my personal take: willpower can win battles, but our central tendencies usually win the war.