Fat and Fatuous

Windsor Mann's latest essay, Fat and Fatuous, discusses how obesity seems to be more of an issue than it really is.

"If the weight of every body becomes everybody's concern, the regulatory antidotes will spread at obesity-like speed, creating yet another epidemic, but one that can be easily averted. All we have to do is do nothing. Is that too much to ask?"

A concession to this argument is that "In the United States, potbellies and thunder thighs are the look that never goes out of fashion."


Support of Windsor's claim:

1) "As troubling as widespread obesity is, widespread obesity prevention sounds much worse." 

2) "Most of the anti-obesity schemes floating around have one aspect in common: Their ultimate goal is to redesign American society, not American individuals."

3) "If you forget about the glut of oversized guts, the government will remind you."

• September was America's first childhood obesity awareness month.
• Michelle Obama started a program that is supposed to help solve childhood obesity, but is bringing more attention to it.
• Girl scouts have been accused of using girls to push cookies on a nation that doesn't need them.

 Personally, I both agree and disagree with what Windsor is saying.  I do believe that obesity in America is something that has gotten out of control, but I also believe that the government is making it appear worse than it is.