I think there's truth in that. However, I also think more is going on. I know a woman who was morbidly obese, and did not overeat. She was not big on exercise, but was not overeating, at least around friends. She went on Atkins and lost a ton of weight--and has kept it off. But she only eats 800-1000 carefully chosen calories a day.

She is still heavy, but not frighteningly so. This might explain her plateauing for several years... .