Washington – Today, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) called for an end to the hysterical rhetoric about obesity after a new study published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, finds that the nation has not seen an appreciable change in obesity rates in the last ten years.
For the last decade, public health officials and self-anointed “food cops” have created a constant state of panic in the “Battle of the Bulge.” Public health officials have called for drastic public policy changes, often times without the appropriate research to determine if they are viable solutions to the nation’s obesity problem.
“The food police have goaded too many Americans to live their lives ‘according to the latest study,’ trying failed fad policies, like menu labels and soda taxes, to lose a few extra pounds.” said CCF Senior Research Analyst J. Justin Wilson. “Public health officials have inappropriately compared the ‘obesity epidemic’ to terrorism, tidal waves, and even the Black Plague. In light of today’s findings, it is time for the public health practitioners to stop scaring Americans about the so-called ‘obesity epidemic,’ and come to terms with a more mature understanding of the relative causes and consequences of excess weight.”
Wilson continued, “This is not to say that we don’t need to address the issue of obesity-we do-but we also need to refocus our efforts on strategies to address the issue like emphasizing personal responsibility in choosing healthy foods and getting enough physical activity. Obesity won’t be solved by the current set of slapdash policies put in place by cities like New York City. Obesity is the result of a variety of lifestyle changes that have occurred over many decades, and forcing people to lose weight through government regulations only sets us up for failure. The government works best when it helps people accomplish their goals, not set them.”
