Obesity as a Stuck Program Mode of the Candida albicans Biochemical Computer

Obesity affects over 1 billion people globally, with treatment limited by the near-universal failure of sustained weight loss. Approximately 95% of individuals who lose weight through dietary intervention regain it within five years, a recidivism rate that suggests a defended equilibrium rather than insufficient willpower. This paper applies the biochemical computer framework (Craddock, 2026a; 2026b) to propose that obesity represents a stuck program mode in which the commensal fungal symbiont Candida albicans maintains the host in a growth and storage phase through sustained modulation of the incretin system, endocannabinoid-mediated appetite regulation, and metabolic state assessment via the GLP-1 receptor. This is a systems-level version conflict between a program refined for the Homo candidus phenotype and the modern host environment that no longer supports it. The framework resolves the set-point problem, explains the dramatic efficacy of bariatric surgery and GLP-1 receptor agonists as habitat disruption and sensing-channel override respectively, and accounts for the post-1970s epidemic onset through antibiotic-era mycobiome disruption. This is the most mechanistically diffuse candidate in the series, operating through multiple simultaneous signaling channels rather than a single-mechanism anchor. Five testable predictions are presented. https://www.jimcraddock.com/