I have always said that in some cases it is an addiction. There are all kinds of reasons why we put on weigh but if we are truly honest with ourselves a lot of it is an addiction. So many reasons, illness, genetics, emotions. I for one know I have an addictive personality fortunately, or unfortunately depending how you look at it, my addiction is food not drink or drugs. It also makes me mad, especially in the UK, how GPs deal with our ever growing problem of obesity. They are happy enough to help alcoholics and drug addicts but fail to see the similarities with food addiction. I really wish the NHS would get a grip of itself and see how much money is being wasted each year treating all the 'side effects' of obesity....high blood pressure, heart conditions, diabetes. If they addressed the initial cause of the obesity with nutritional advice and therapy I am sure this would be a lot cheaper than all the problems which come with excessive weight gain in later life. I get really peeved at people saying oh you are fat because you are greedy. This is not always the case, people need to get a better understand of the psychological issues which underpin most issues surrounding food.