Caesar Barber recently filed a lawsuit against several fast food restaurants, claiming he didn't know their food would make him obese. Although his argument is a first in America, his health problem is anything but unique.
According to the surgeon general, about 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Although some of these individuals have medical problems that prevent them from attaining a healthy weight, experts say the vast majority simply don't eat a healthy diet and don't exercise enough.
It amazes me that people who would sooner die than put a cigarette to their lips eagerly devour super sized fast food meals on Monday, pizza on Tuesday, and so on. Perhaps they don't realize obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in America (tobacco is first).
Heart disease, diabetes and other diseases caused or augmented by obesity are ravaging this country, and everyone flocks to point the finger at the tobacco industry. While tobacco is indeed heinous, the culprit lurking in the shadows of our fast food magnates is nothing but laziness for many obese people, not the fast-food restaurants themselves as Caesar Barber suggests.
Fad diets, stomach stapling and diet pills are not the answer to this ever-growing epidemic. Obese people whose weight is not caused by a medical problem need to look at themselves in the mirror and realize obesity is no less severe or damaging than a nicotine addiction. Or maybe they need to look at their children, who could very well be among the 14 percent of American children who are obese. What example are they setting? What habits are they instilling in their children and grandchildren?
People need to take the time to buy and cook nutritious meals and exercise regularly. Lack of time is no excuse. A healthy diet and an active exercise regimen are as essential for a healthy life as abstaining from tobacco, albeit more difficult for some. The weight loss formula is simple, but it takes discipline: follow the Food Guide Pyramid and exercise at least three times a week.
It's taboo to talk about obesity for some reason, but I think it needs to be discussed more openly. Aggressive anti-obesity campaigns similar to the current anti-tobacco campaigns need to be implemented. We must stop loading our arteries with pounds of saturated fat while applauding the decreasing numbers of smokers. Improving health through abstention from tobacco while endangering our bodies with excess pounds is akin to buying a state-of-the-art infant car seat and then deliberately not buckling it in.
It took hundreds of years for our society to realize how evil tobacco is and start fighting it. Let's not let the same thing happen with the American obesity epidemic.