I bought the magazine yesterday, when I had some extra time to kill and I read the article last night. It was interesting and there is no doubt that there is more going on with some people's weight gain than calories in and out.
Funny, about 15 years ago, we got Outside as part of a magazine thing. After a few issues we both thought the stuff featured in there was CRAZY and we dropped the subscription. We couldn't fathom people doing the crazy endurance stuff.
About 2 years later, DH started riding, and while you'll never get me ice climbing, that stuff doesn't seem so crazy to me now.