Who's to Blame? Obesity in America

abcnews.com ^ | 12/08/03 | ABC News

[brewcrew]

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight and almost one in three Americans is obese, according to the federal government.

Who's to blame for America's obesity? Is it bad eating habits or poorly executed exercise regimes? Could the government and the food industry also be to blame?

"We're besieged," said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Wherever we go, we're encouraged to eat junk food."

Some say that personal health and well being are a matter of personal responsibility. But the processed food industry and the government know what is happening — and they are making a bad situation worse.

Last year there were more than 2,800 new candies, desserts, ice creams and snacks on the market — but only 230 new fruit or vegetable products.

"I think that the food industry is providing a wide variety of choice, and certainly if you look at some of the recent market trends, you're seeing a major increase in the good-for-you foods category," said Chip Kunde, the senior vice president of the International Dairy Foods Association.

"Ultimately it is a matter of personal choice," he said. "I mean we can't dictate what people choose to eat, so yes at some point what people choose to eat or how they choose to move is ultimately the issue here."

The problem is Americans are choosing foods with more sweeteners and more calories, drinking more sodas, eating more candy, and snacking all day. Is the food industry simply giving people the products they want?

"I don't think that you can talk about giving the public what the public wants without discussing the $33 billion a year that the food industry spends to try to promote that kind of want," said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.

-snip-

[brewcrew]

So now farmers are responsible for my being fat. Rush warned of this several years ago, after the tobacco companies started getting bay-atch slapped in the courts.

Pretty soon, I should be able to sue the oil companies when I kill someone in a drunk driving incident. Has the whole world gone mad? IT'S MY HAND THAT FEEDS MY MOUTH! NOBODY ELSE IS RESPONSIBLE!

[anniegetyourgun]

I'd like to suggest we blame Elvis. He's dead, no one will be truly broken up if he is tagged as the culprit, and he is sighted often enough to be blamed on a fairly regular basis. It's cheap, easy, and gives everyone somewhere to target their anger.

[No Blue States]

"Who's to blame for America's obesity?"

Bush.

[Isolationist]

Geez… here’s the solution… stop stuffing your fat face. There are always alternatives to fast food the problem is people are too LAZY to look for them.

[the Real fifi]

Once again, a major media outlet is snowed by a phony "advocacy group". Check ActivistCash.com to find out more about CSPI. It is neither science nor in the public interest, but heck these media guys get millions for reading the propaganda off Fenton's press releases, you don't acutlly expect them to work, do you?

[af_vet_rr]

Elvis is a good choice, and he has certainly shown up on the cover of his fair share of magazines you see in the checkout lane.

[cjshapi]

Well, according to some Dr. on television hawking diet pills "being fat really isn't your fault". Apparently stuffing one's face with cake, pie, pizza and anything else that doesn't have to be chased while lying on the couch is just not something one should be responsible for.

[Chummy]

"Who's to blame for America's obesity?"

Klinton. Tubby had a fondness for Big Macs -- besides Monica, that is.

[brewcrew]

I've actually heard some postulate the theory that our tastebuds have been conditioned by the food industry over the last 30 years to the point where healthy foods just don't taste good anymore.

[Constitution Day]

I wish the recent National Review article, "The Perils of 'Fat Acceptance'" were available.
The author, Jennifer Grossman, did an outstanding job on it.

[OldFriend]

Joe LIEberman says we're all being held hostage by jelly donuts.

[rcofdayton]

That's right! According to the libs everything is George Bush's fault.

[bush8years]

This overwhelmingly contentious issue we face as a result of the basic social/moral dilemma that has plagued mankind ever since it began to manipulate and adapt nature's resources to its own end comes down to this fundamental principle, the same issue the legal/moral community has wrestled with in dealing with the pervasiveness and insidiousness of the drug culture;

Which side is to blame for the rampant use of illegal drugs and substances; Is it the user end (demand) to blame or is it the producer end (Supply)??

[the Real fifi]

CSPI is a front for the trial lawyers who, in Nader fashion, use it to soften the way for their members to sue the fast food industry and producers. Wise up , Jennings, you moron.

[.38sw]

Well, according to some Dr. on television hawking diet pills "being fat really isn't your fault".

I think I've heard a similar ad on radio. The claim is that stress causes a hormonal imbalance (something to do with cortisol) that affects your ability to burn fat, so the pill he's pushing corrects that imbalance, and voila! You are now slender. Go ahead and eat those Krispy Kremes, and you won't be fat!

There are plenty of foolish people who believe these claims and will spend their money to enrich a charlatan.

[Isolationist]

And what’s a synopsis on the article I couldn’t find anything on the net.

[petercooper]

don't eat for three, tubbies

[smpc]

Whats to blame?The same thing thats to blame for obesity everywhere in the west......a lifestyle of sitting.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

People have forgotten portion size. A correct portion size for a beverage is 8 ounces - that's it! - not 16, or 32 ounces. The amount of food a person should eat is no larger than their fist - that's it! - not mounds and mounds and mounds of food. People overeat because they've forgotten what a portion size is.

[cjshapi]

I think that may be the same one. He doesn't say what kind of dr he is and his friend, the other dr. invented the pills. Sounds like a fine outfit to me!