Book: End Is Near for Obesity Epidemic
[In] The End of the Obesity Epidemic, Michael Gard argues that we have entered into a new, and perhaps terminal, phase of the obesity debate…. Evidence suggests that obesity rates are leveling off in Western societies, life expectancies continue to rise in line with rising obesity rates, and across the world policy-makers have remained largely indifferent and inactive… Dissecting and dismissing much of the over-blown rhetoric and ideological bias found on both sides of the obesity debate, Gard demonstrates that the science of obesity remains radically uncertain and that it is impossible to establish an objective ‘truth’ on which to base policy. His powerful and inescapable conclusion is that we should now mark the end of the obesity epidemic.
See more on the end of the obesity epidemic.
I wonder if the United States will end the Obesity Epidemic by merely changing the definition of what is considered obese? Maybe fat is the new normal. That reminds me of a scene from The Onion Movie on obesity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRoSJ1y1FSY
Body weight will always be part of the public discussion. There are too many philosophical issues tied into it. We use weight as a proxy for other ideas(genetic fitness, intelligence, indicators of physical activity, and other things, either rightly or wrongly). And in a certain sense, we always will.
I have trouble believing any of this.
The obesity “epidemic” was started by a change in the definition, why not finish it that way?
The NHANES data show that obesity prevalence appears to have stabilized, or been increasing much more slowly, since 2000. The government changed the definition of overweight in the late 1990s, increasing the number of overweight Americans by millions.
For an overview that isn’t hysterical see the interview with Katherine Flegal at http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2599
The increase in the 1980s was sudden and remains unexplained.
Four children and being middle aged changed my weight ratio. I am considered obese by medical guidelines, even though my belly does not hang over the waistline of my pants and I have no health complications. I think the medical field should reconsider what is considered obese.