I didn't ignore you, I just chose not to reply, but you know what... fine. You win. You are so much smarter than I am. Thank you.
You make some fine assumptions about what I know or don't (which, by the way, I did read the comments, but there was nothing that was specific to what I said). So, here is my last stop:
I don't go for anecdotal evidence but you seem so bent on "it can never be a medical condition that someone is fat" rant that there seems to be no hope to avoid it. My niece has an underdeveloped thyroid. It doesn't produce any hormones at all. Her entire immediate family is in fantastic health. Her mother is a dietitian and her father is a golf pro. They know more about food and nutrition than any of us idiots. My niece started gaining weight at 4 years old, which was attributed to baby fat so the doctors said to let her run around and be a happy child (which she did). At five the pounds continued to add on much faster than typical at her age. the doctor's blamed her diet, so mom started keeping a log... surprise surprise, her diet is balanced and healthy. By the time she was ten she was the largest student in her class despite being as active as possible (softball, soccer, volleyball), and by that time on a very restrictive diet. After an MRI her thyroid was determined to be malfunctioning and even deformed. Hormone treatment was started, but it only stymied the weight gain, it did halt it. The weight gain she experienced was not predominantly in her gut, but in her arms, shoulders, neck, and upper thighs. She looked like a body builder, but where muscle should have been it was fat. Her social life was non-existent, forget about dating, and she has been in therapy since she was 11 for anxiety and depression. She is in college now and the doctors have pretty much said that this is something she has to live with. She will never have a normal life because of this. She exercises and works hard to maintain her weight, and I stress maintain, but even gastric bypass will not help her lose weight. In order to maintain her weight she has to limit her daily calorie intake 1800 calories, which for a normal woman would equate to a rather intense diet. For her, that has to be her normal intake to maintain her weight. Try it. I have. It sucks, and I don't think I could live my life on 1800 calories a day.
You say it is an excuse, which to me makes you look like an asshole because you have never had to watch people say to your loved ones "maybe you should just exercise more" or "have you tried this diet?" I've heard people say she is killing herself by over eating, and one girl in high school told her to kill herself. Her body, through no fault of her own does not metabolize food like it should. Some people get Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or other brain related illness, she got this. She also gets to deal with people like you who say she is blaming her weight gain on her thyroid. Like I have said before, but you didn't seem to listen, some people do blame medical conditions when it is their own fault, but guess what, she's not only a part of that small part of the population where her thyroid actually sucks, but also the 10% of that who is pretty much fucked. How many other people have to live this before you take a step back and recognize that there are thousands of people that live with this and then have to listen to people like you say "but the research says..."?
So, have fun with your research on the 6.whatever%, but in fact, you weren't listening just as much as I wasn't, because time after time I said that this was not true for EVERYONE, but even that 6% represents thousands of people that suffer from unwanted and unearned weight gain. Further, some people consider my niece lucky because they caught it early, but what about those people who don't find out until later? Try losing pounds due to a medical condition rather than overeating when you are over thirty and then you can lecture me.
I don't have a thyroid problem. I'm overweight, but it is my own fault, but don't sit there and group everyone in the same boat and say "but it's only a minority" because as much as you think I am ignorant of the research (of which I am not) that doesn't make me the asshole that thinks that the 6% either don't exist, or don't matter.
I'm glad you don't have to deal medical hardships in your family. I really do.