America’s War Against Obesity

America is at war. Just like in the 80’s when Nancy Reagan urged America’s youth to “Just Say No to Drugs”…

…America’s political and medical leaders are once again urging America’s youth to not give in to temptation, and to “Just Say No to Obesity”.

• However, unlike the War Against Drugs, our enemy isn’t an evil, South American drug-dealing scumbag.
• It’s permissive parents and America’s food producers and Ronald McDonald and those super-cute Coca-Cola polar bears.

Heck, it’s not even like the War Against Cancer. Unlike our assault upon America’s tobacco producers, we actually need America’s food producers to keep producing…food.

In essence, we’re in a war against ourselves. And in such a war, no one really knows what the heck to do.

• Politicians like Michael Bloomberg enact legislation to restrict the consumption of soda…not knowing if this will have any real effect on American obesity.
• Nutrition experts & teachers try to educate our kids about the benefits of “real food” and the dangers of “junk food”…not knowing if this will have any real effect on American obesity.

• School boards are shamed into “healthifying” school lunches …not knowing if this will have any real effect on American obesity.
• Fitness professionals like myself urge school boards to re-instate phys-ed classes and to include short bursts of physical activity throughout the school day …not knowing if this will have any real effect on American obesity.

And the major reason why we don’t know if any of these pro-active decisions will have any real effect on American obesity is because one of America’s strongest political lobby groups doesn’t want anything to change.

And when America’s Food & Beverage lobby doesn’t want something to change, they unleash the lobbyists and the lawyers and their campaign donations to ensure that…

1. Farm subsidies (designed to subsidize processed / junk foods) are exempt from congressional cutbacks. 
2. Junk food producers never face the same marketing restrictions that the tobacco or alcohol industries have to deal with.

And there is a lot of money at stake.

• Billions in farm subsidies
• Billions in junk food sales
• Billions in healthcare costs
• Billions in lost productivity

And when there is a lot of money at stake…you’re going to find lawyers.

• Lawyers willing to sue the pants of junk food producers just like they did the tobacco producers.

Mark my word. In the coming years, you are going to see some gigantic class-action lawsuits against Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds, etc.

• In 2011, the Institute of Medicine published a 104 page summary on the “Legal Strategies in Childhood Obesity Prevention“.

In this publication, a number of different legal approaches are examined as possible tools used to help reverse the tide of obesity. Not surprisingly, the subject manner is far too detailed and more than a little booooorrrrriiiinnnngggg to include in this blog post.

If you’re a giant geek like me, click on the link above. You can download a free pdf copy of the paper and take your time reading all about the legal instruments that are going to play a big part in America’s War Against Obesity.