The following unsigned editorial appeared in the Detroit Free Press on Thursday, March 11:
“Scared skinny” seems to be the latest government approach to the nation’s all-too-obvious obesity problem. A federal report this week declared that more Americans soon will be dying of obesity than from smoking, which would make being fat the nation’s top cause of preventable death.
No question this is important. No question the problem is costly, too, because obesity contributes to numerous health problems, and it is most prevalent among people who are poor and either uninsured or dependent on the government for health care.
So, how does the nation tackle it constructively, without creating pariahs of fat people, who in addition to all the other grief they endure can now be blamed for consuming an oversize portion of tax dollars? The idea should be to help people, not humiliate them or turn them into closet eaters.
Here are a few suggestions:
This problem starts young. Parents don’t have to pass weight problems on to their children, who will eat what’s made available at home. Schools ought to review their physical education requirements, cafeteria menus and the accessibility of high-calorie soft drinks. Food labeling can be improved so the nutrition, calories and fat content is clear. This applies to grocery products and restaurant menus. Alcoholic beverages ought to be clearly labeled, too.
The government’s new anti-fat TV campaign tries to use humor, showing, for example, a set of “love handles” left in a stairway by someone who stopped taking elevators. Television is a powerful medium. How about commercials that try to make walking or home-cooking cool things to do?
Can the Department of Health and Human Services devise a list of 20 easy ways to burn 1,000 extra calories a week and promote the heck out of it?
While we’re promoting things, how about the mental and emotional health that comes from physical well-being?
(c) 2004, Detroit Free Press.

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