This blog is overrated.

Great post from Megan McArdle (did I just write that?) about the absurdity of the idea that one’s weight is entirely controlled by willpower. “More and more, the evidence on diet is showing just how effective your appetite is at putting your weight where your body wants it to be.”

A couple months ago, when the theory was floated that diet soda might somehow make people gain weight, the obvious consternation among conventional-wisdom-spouters was as delicious as a Boylan’s cane cola. They weren’t sure which way they wanted this to go, so as to sustain the least damage to their essentially moral view of weight. If it’s not true, that would mean that there’s no punishment for upsetting the natural balance of things and enjoying a sweet carbonated drink with no calories. But if it is true, then they might have to admit that losing weight is more complicated than “eat less, exercise more.”