Obesity
Recently, I was in the metro and saw an ad implying that obesity is not really a problem, but has been blown out of proportion. The ad, I have now discovered, is funded by the Center for Consumer Freedom, which is backed by US food and restaurant industries. An article on MSNBC also discusses the ads.
What drives me crazy is that ever since a study came out (a month or so ago) saying that overweight people actually live longer, people have been saying the obesity epidemic is overhyped. But the study shows that overweight (not obese) people live longer, and it does not say that they live with a better quality of life. I actually chose obesity as a future contingency of interest for my forward engagement class, because I see it as something that will be a major future problem in terms of economics (huge costs associated with diabetes and the 40 other dieases associated with obesity, for starters), science (funding diverted from research on other issues, for example), and governance and security (tremendous strain on public health care costs will have serious budget implications). Things like those ads which conflate obesity with overweightness drive me crazy, because they are not only inaccurate but also misleading.
It seems clear that obesity has major quality of life implications, such as causing premature aging. A couple other obesity related articles I just came across include this article in the New Scientist linking prenatal nutrition to obesity, and an article in Salon on Mike Huckabee, governor of Arkansas, who recently lost a lot of weight and is trying to fight obesity in his home state. China may take some lessons, as it is projected to be home to 200 million obese people in 10 years time.
Recently, I was in the metro and saw an ad implying that obesity is not really a problem, but has been blown out of proportion. The ad, I have now discovered, is funded by the Center for Consumer Freedom, which is backed by US food and restaurant industries. An article on MSNBC also discusses the ads.
What drives me crazy is that ever since a study came out (a month or so ago) saying that overweight people actually live longer, people have been saying the obesity epidemic is overhyped. But the study shows that overweight (not obese) people live longer, and it does not say that they live with a better quality of life. I actually chose obesity as a future contingency of interest for my forward engagement class, because I see it as something that will be a major future problem in terms of economics (huge costs associated with diabetes and the 40 other dieases associated with obesity, for starters), science (funding diverted from research on other issues, for example), and governance and security (tremendous strain on public health care costs will have serious budget implications). Things like those ads which conflate obesity with overweightness drive me crazy, because they are not only inaccurate but also misleading.
It seems clear that obesity has major quality of life implications, such as causing premature aging. A couple other obesity related articles I just came across include this article in the New Scientist linking prenatal nutrition to obesity, and an article in Salon on Mike Huckabee, governor of Arkansas, who recently lost a lot of weight and is trying to fight obesity in his home state. China may take some lessons, as it is projected to be home to 200 million obese people in 10 years time.
posted by Zo at 9:44 AM
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