Stephan Guyenet responds to Gary Taubes’ criticism that post-WW2 obesity researchers have been studying the wrong things because they are stuck in the wrong paradigm:
Someone should tell Gary Taubes about leptin. And after that, tell him about melanocortins, neuropeptide Y, dopamine, opioids, amylin, ghrelin and all the other factors that researchers have determined regulate body fat accumulation since WWII. Then, all of the brain regions that respond to these factors and have well-defined roles in body fat regulation (e.g., the arcuate nucleus, ventromedial hypothalamus, lateral hypothalamus, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus). Just because these mechanisms involve the brain doesn’t mean we get to pretend they don’t exist, and then complain that no one is studying the question.
It’s all about the brain baby!
Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our Western diet -- especially sugar, refined grains, and industrial oils. Beth writes about nutrition, ancestral health, & food policy. And cats! 
The rhetorical tone of domination in the two gentlemen’s discourse does little, I fear, to advance any paradigm dialogs-a pity for both science and people. Your recent post about stress and hunger, which I discovered today, reminds me that human beings make assumptions about the reasons why physiological processes happen the way they seem to. Body fat is simple to measure. Changes in body fat may correlate with other regulatory process(es) (neurological), which we as yet have the tools to observe or understand, with current paradigms.
I wanted to add above, but ran out of time/space: I continue to enjoy the many insights and sources provided by your blog (in addition to your wonderful sense of humor). Thanks.
Thanks so much!! Like you, I’m sometimes discouraged by the discourse (ref my “Why we’re effed” post). On the other hand, I’m optimistic that it will be the cloud that will ultimately help make real progress, not an individual with his or her specific hypothesis. Onward!
Hi, Beth. Got some time off. Am checking in with/catching up on blog friends today. It’s been a while. LOVE this quote. Thank you.