A couple points of clarification:
Modifying hormones can't be done yet because the processes are not clearly defined and other side effects also occur. Considerable work is being done on this subject and I believe progress will be made.
Be careful extrapolating from studies done on "obese" people and taking those conclusions to your own weight loss. One thing we all agree on is the medically obese (by definition, not name calling) people are different than "non-obese" people.
Why has the problem of obesity become epidemic in less than a generation when that is not enough time for any form of natural selection to occur with genetics? The best quote is "genetics loads the gun, the environment pulls the trigger" Some people are set up to be fat, others are not, when everyone is exposed to a diet (typical American diet) that tends to create obesity, only some will succumb.
Finally, we can argue all we want about how people get there, but once you are medically obese, the only treatment effective for more than 5-10% of people is surgery which is 90%+ effect. Current research seems to indicate that bypassing parts of the intestinal tract regulates hormones and a recent conference in Rome showed data that overweight, but not obese, patients with diabetes had their diabetes cured by surgery bypassing parts of the intestinal tract.
Very interesting topic! Snuff, I agree that you will gravitate to a given weight based on your activity level, age, resistance training and diet but at any given set point for these parameters it will take huge moves to change beyond a swing of 10-20 pounds. Just give up on being a climber and take advantage of your power! From what I puruse from these posts you are a fairly sucessful racer, just don't try to win any Alpine stages
