Fatty Issue
Why are Americans so fat? Hmm...there's a toughie. Could it be that they refuse to pry their faces out of their plates and go to the gym? Not according to a section of the recent American Public Health Association conference, writes Kelly Jane Torrance, of the Center For Consumer Freedom:
Speaker after speaker scorned the notion that individual Americans are responsible for their own choices. Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPIóthe Ralph Nader spinoff that has already ruined movie popcorn for millions of us), made no effort to hide her agenda. "We have got to move beyond personal responsibility," she pleaded with her audience. In a session titled "The Politics of Food," Skip Spitzer of the radical Pesticide Action Network added that "the idea of 'personal responsibility'" is merely "a cultural construct," ready to be superseded for our own good.Yale psychologist Kelly Brownell, best known as the father of the "Twinkie tax," was one of the meeting's most popular speakers. Showing some politicking skill, Brownell suggested that activists should make use of children to sidestep commonsense arguments about personal choices: "Another, very utilitarian reason for focusing on children, of course, is then you get away from these arguments about personal responsibility."
Incidentally, Brownell scoffed at the idea that obesity can be successfully treated and reversed. Funny he should think so. The Associated Press noted last year that he gained a good deal of weight while writing a book. The experience apparently "kept him relatively sedentary and snack-prone." In San Francisco, Brownell appeared considerably leaner and meaner, but offered no hint as to which tax or other government program helped him shed the extra pounds.
Some complain that the Center For Consumer Freedom is just a front for Philip Morris, and other mega-companies that fund it. Funding aside, here's one of their articles on the fat issue that makes a lot of sense.
I've been to American Public Health Association conferences -- too many -- and there's a lot of bullshit being passed around there. While I won't defend the position that Kelly Jane describes (caricatures?) in her piece, I can indeed speak for the efficacy of public health interventions. Public health professionals generally make populations, not individuals, their focus. Historically, we've been successful at preventing the spread of infectious disease in cities by setting up health departments that monitor and enforce sanitation policies. (Kelly Jane might prefer to chastise individuals to take personal responsibility for avoiding cholera-infected water.) Our interventions are targeted at the system level, and they've been incredibly effective for reducing deaths from infectious diseases. More recently, the field has decided to try this approach on chronic health problems that are caused bad health habits like smoking and eating too much junk food. Most public health professionals do not regard personal responsibility as a "cultural construct" (that makes me want to barf, actually). We're just trying to extend techniques that have been successful in the past to new areas.
Lena at December 24, 2003 10:06 AM
Since I know of the APHA from my favorite modern epidemiologist, you'll note that I took pains not to tar the entire group with the lard-laden brush.
Amy Alkon at December 24, 2003 10:26 AM
And this on the day that the last minute shoppers are rushing around for last minute cookies and condiments.
I love it as I love your column.
Sheryl at December 24, 2003 3:25 PM
Aww, thanks!
Amy Alkon at December 24, 2003 5:01 PM
Egads, don't you just love the culture of victimhood? Nothing I do is my fault, including what I choose to spend my hard earned money on to fill my face. If I can't jog down the street without leaving potholes, it's not my fault. If I can't take my own weight because NASA refuses to let me use their equipment for measuring the mass of plantary bodies, it's not my fault. (Just as well. Since I live on the west coast of Florida and Cape Canaveral is on the east coast of the state, my travelling to Cape Canaveral would cause a dramatic shift in the tides.)
My doctor tried to get me to use aerobics for losing weight. So, I went to a class. I twisted. I gyrated. I jumped up and down for an hour. And by the time I got my Spandex on, the class was over. But that's not my fault, either.
I appreciate the fact that because our society is enamored with convenience food due to time constraints and an increasingly longer work week, but for goodness sake! We also know more about diet and nutrition than we ever did, and there's at least as many diets out there as there are people who need them. What's the problem. Somercize your South Beach ass over to Atkins by way of Weight Watchers, already! You are responsible for what you eat and what you do with your time. No one is tying you to the couch in front of the television and forcefeeding you bon-bons all day.
Patrick at December 25, 2003 11:27 AM
Ooopsie, sounds like Patrick has some anger management issues.
sheryl at December 26, 2003 7:25 PM