Obesity in America

Like many Americans, I have struggled to keep a healthy weight, and the epidemic didn’t help.  We have very high levels of overweight and obese people.  That condition is very clearly tied to a large number of bad health outcomes, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even worse outcomes with a CV-19 infection.  The jump shown on the chart below during the epidemic is directly due to the terror campaign and lockdowns.  People couldn’t go to the gym or even to parks.  Beyond stupid.

There is a movement to say fat is beautiful.  It isn’t, aesthetically or certainly from a health or quality of life perspective.  Obesity is dreadful and weighs (pun intended) on those who are overweight; it is a constant source of anxiety and depression.  This should be our number one health priority.  And people should be both incentivized and penalized to help get them to a healthier weight.  It doesn’t have to be the way it is in the US.  I am in Denmark and almost no one is overweight.  People walk and bike a lot and eat somewhat healthier foods.  There is no point in “fat shaming”, but there is every point in letting people know they are overweight and they have to something about it.  And drugs aren’t going to be the answer.