In which I ponder to what extent actually carrying extra fat on our body is detrimental compared to the excess calories (and poor food choices that often accompany this) we consume  in order to get that extra fat, which, in and of itself, creates a stress to our health with health consequences of their own?  

How much of a toll is continuously digesting? Or, as Doug McGuff points out in Body by Science, are we creating an imbalance with too much anabolism and not enough catabolism?