The Two Sides of Responsibility - A blog by Michael Prager
Michael Prager, the author of “Fat Boy Thin Man,” blogs about food politics at michaelprager.com.
The Two Sides of Responsibility
Listen to Glenn Beck ("Get away from my french fries, Mrs. Obama,” he’s reported to have said at an event in Illinois in September) or the lobbyists at the Center for Consumer Choice and you might come away thinking that the obesity epidemic in America is only a political issue: Nanny-state politicians vs. just plain folk.
But it’s not nearly that simple.
Certainly, individual freedom is a key and enduring American value, and I thank God for mine. But in this case, such declarations sidestep what is clearly the public health threat of our time, obesity. Two of every three American adults, and one out of every three American children, are overweight or obese.
Wilson cites the recent ballyhooed experiment by Mark Haub, a Kansas State professor, who ate only junk food during a recent stretch and lost weight. He is reported to have achieved this by limiting his calories to 1,800, and exercising 40 to 60 minutes, daily. Haub’s point is that substances have no role in obesity, that it is simply a matter of calories in, calories out.
