You are what you ate: the Biosetpoint hypothesis
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
Published on: May 8, 2018
1The Biosetpoint Institute, 139 purdue Avenue, Kensington, CA 94708, USA. ed@blonz.com
Abstract:
The current epidemic of obesity has developed at a rate that cannot be attributed to genetic drift. Attempts to treat obesity using diet and activity have been largely disappointing. Genes are fixed at conception, but genetic expression is known to be influenced by nutriture during the stages of growth and development, these occurring in humans from conception through arrival at adulthood. Based on an extrapolation from existing data and cultural models, it is hypothesized that there is a mechanism by which diet and lifestyle habits present during the individual stages of growth and development help to define and program genetic expression in a way that resists change. It is through this mechanism that current nutritional and lifestyle practices have impacted genetic expression and contributed to the rapid development of resistant obesity. The details of the interaction between nutrition, lifestyle and genetic expression during growth must be examined, and intervention strategies devised for early stages of growth to prevent the seeds of obesity from taking root.
Related Concept Videos
Confirmation Biases
Metabolic States of the Body: The Absorptive State
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the small...
Pedigree Analysis
Nature and Nurture

