Combating Obesity

It isn't a secret that American society is plagued with saturated fat, obesity, and the other health problems associated with it. But, who is to blame for it? If you have read Dhruv Khullar's "Why Shaming Obesity Won't Stop Obesity" you know that many people believe the blame lies with the consumers themselves and their parents. While it makes sense to point the finger at someone for their own obesity and health issues, it definitely is not always their fault. Many areas have very little or no access to healthy and fresh food options, which is in no way the consumers' fault. In these areas where healthy options are few and far between, fast food corporations take over and become the main providers for those citizens. The same goes for placing the blame on parents for their children being obese. While it makes sense to say that it is all their fault since they provide for them, they have no control over what food is available in their area and at what price. Also, they can't always control what their children eat while they are away from home, or how their bodies react to the food they eat. At the end of the day, no matter who is to blame for a person's obesity, shaming them and making them feel terrible will never solve the problem, which is Khullar's main purpose in writing his article.

Even more important than the question of who is to blame for this obesity epidemic is the question of how we stop it. After reading "Downsizing Supersize" by James Surowiecki, which is about Michael Bloomberg's policy of banning large soda's, it became clear to me that Americans truly love their sodas based on the uproar following the policy. This article really made me think about how many of my decisions are controlled by the factors involved and the people trying to persuade me one way or the other, rather than myself. This could be a good and bad thing. Good, because it means that there is a way for us to control and maybe fight the growing obesity rates with methods such as Bloomberg's. Bad, because this means that advertising and corporations as a whole control our lives a lot more than we ever thought. Over all, I believe our attempts at combating obesity should begin with educating people about what they are eating and making healthy food available to everyone, then later we can enforce policies.