I believe food additives, pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol and recreational drugs throw off your body's delicate hormonal checks and balances. This imbalance affects how food is metabolized and whether it is converted into energy or stored as fat.

Add the effects of Bisphenol-A plastics that mimic estrogen used in can liners and hard plastic containers, and you have a hazard that creates hormonal imbalances no amount of dieting or weight-loss programs can deal with.

We need to avoid plastics containing Bisphenol-A, as well as refined sugar, Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, chemical additives, preservatives, etc. These also disrupt the endocrine system, which leads to malfunctions in the way the body metabolizes food.

For more information about this theory, and research that supports it, check out

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070906/news_lz1c06obese.html