Self-Awareness is not achieved in isolation; it takes a village by Odilia Rivera-Santos

I was talking to an obese woman (over 300 lbs) and she explained how weight gain was genetic and cited a lot of convoluted science to bolster her argument. I didn't say much because I don't argue with the stories people tell themselves to avoid doing what they have to do.
The obese woman calming spoke about food additives, food corporations' desire to create addictive foods, etc. The fascinating thing was she ate two large bagels loaded with cream cheese and proceeded to eat muffins and drink a large high-calorie coffee beverage. She was completely unaware of what a huge quantity of food she had consumed in a very short period of time. It was one of the moments in which I could truly see a person getting high from food. Her speech became more lethargic and her eyes began to glaze over. I didn't say anything because I've learned from prior experience not to get between an individual and his or her choice of weapon for self-destruction.
It did make me think about self-awareness. Not only did she not see how much she was eating, but she was also unaware of how people stared at her as they walked by our table.
Studies on genetic predisposition for a particular condition may be flawed and even if they are completely accurate, it is our job as caretakers of our bodies to fight to prevent negative outcomes.
It is often the case that fat children have fat parents and fat grandparents who all eat calories from sources that negatively affect sugar levels and metabolism.
Sometimes, it isn't genetics; sometimes, it's learned behavior.