Liz, I didn't mean to pick on you; I'm sorry if my last message implied that
I was criticizing your example.  Actually, I'm grateful for your
observations, because I hadn't realized that obese vegetarians were so
common in some regions.  I imagine that the problem is most severe for "junk
food vegetarians."

As an aside, I wonder why I'm not fat (I'm being serious).  I'm
hypoglycemic, and hypoglycemia and hyperinsulinemia are frequently treated
as synonyms, yet I become slightly underweight on a high-carb diet (however,
such a diet screws up my blood sugar and leaves me tired and unhealthy).
According to Dr. George Watson (who studied oxdizer types), my hypoglycemia
indicates that I "burn" sugar very quickly (i.e., glycolysis occurs more
rapidly than in the average person).  I'm not sure how Watson's explanation
and hyperinsulinemia work together.

-- Aaron Wieland

>Sorry, Aaron:  I didn't make myself clear, I guess.  When people have
>hyperinsulinemia, every carbohydrate they eat gets stored as fat, and they
>can even gain weight on diets that other people would lose on. [...]