WARNING: Rant!
There's been quite the discussion going on in comments of The Men Who Made Us Fat, and I decided my commentary might be better organized in a blog post. I can certainly see the positions of both sides there, but in the end I come down on the side of "Eric" when he says this:
"Until we accept that Obesity is a lifestyle choice ( either voluntarily or by apathy ) no real fix can every be made without crushing regressive taxation on food. To blame "big food" is a dangerous cop-out that reinforces the negative cycle."
The so-called "simple obesity" -- the epidemic of indisputable overeating to the tune of an average of 500 calories per day -- is very much a lifestyle choice. In my case, the obesity of the late 90's and the 2000's was in large part due to apathy or laziness. Too many take out meals instead of cooking something. And take out means too many fried, processed, calorie dense foods. Or just eating crackers and cheese watching TV -- before you know it a sleeve is gone, and you haven't even had a "meal". It's ordering the quarter pounder and medium fries when a regular burger and small fries is enough. It's having McD's on the road instead of packing a snack for the long trip. CHOICES.
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