Obesity Is a Choice, Not a Disease

In another case of science confirming the obvious, a study conducted by the University of Minnesota concludes that telling people that obesity is a disease implies that they have no control over their weight (more importantly, their health) and discourages them from finding solutions by absolving them of responsibility. 

University of Minnesota researchers asked more than 700 adults to read one of three articles about obesity. 

One was a real article from the New York Times about the decision to classify obesity as a disease.

A second article focused on standard tips for managing weight, including having a weekly weigh-in and varying exercise to keep it interesting. 

The third piece argued that obesity is not a disease and emphasised [sic.] the importance of a person’s lifestyle to their health. 

... 

The obese men and men who read that obesity was a disease saw dieting for health as less important than the others.

They were also less concerned about their weigh, happier with their size and chose higher calorie sandwiches.

As with most things in life, the most important factor determining health and fitness is personal responsibility, especially in a country as wealthy and technologically advanced as the US.  Yes, genetics play a role, but as this chart from USA Today demonstrates, the obesity rate in the US rocketed from 13% in 1962 to 36% in 2010.  Even if the data is only 80% accurate, that's still an enormous increase in only 50 years.  A population's genetics simply cannot change that drastically in one generation.  Genetics are not the issue.

Another factor that comes up when discussing obesity in the US is poverty, because in the US the poor are fatter than the rich.

Wages were inversely related to BMI and obesity in a nationally representative sample of more than 6,000 adults – meaning, those with low wages had increased BMI as well as increased chance of being obese (Kim & Leigh, 2010).

Supposedly, this phenomenon is the result of "food deserts".

Many Americans reside in food deserts—communities where retailers offering fresh food are scarce but fast-food restaurants and convenience stores selling prepared foods can abound. 

... 

Gallagher says. “You can’t choose healthy food if you don’t have access to it.”

According to this theory, poor people tend to be fatter because they can't afford to eat healthy foods. 

NPR.org: Food deserts mapped from coast to coast

I've always thought this theory was a load of steer manure based on personal experience.  First, my family and I are immigrants.  We moved to the US in 1983 and lived in poverty for years, and eating fast food was an extremely rare treat for us precisely because eating at home was far more affordable.  Second, although Aimee and I are solidly middle class, we still eat out rarely because we have eight kids and cooking a healthy meal at home is far less expensive than eating at a fast food restaurant or eating "prepared foods".

Personal experience is anecdotal, but now we have empirical evidence that my hunch was right.   

three years and $500 million into the federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative, there's a problem: A study suggests it's not working. 

... 

When a grocery store was opened in one Philadelphia food desert, 26.7 percent of residents made it their main grocery store and 51.4 percent indicated using it for any food shopping, the report found. But among the population that used the new supermarket, the researchers saw no significant improvement in BMI, fruit and vegetable intake, or perceptions of food accessibility, although there was a significant improvement in perception of accessibility to fruits and vegetables...

As James Taranto puts it...

The results "mirror findings in the U.K., where researchers created a similar comparison of two neighborhoods in Scotland and observed no net effect on fruit and vegetable intake," 

...

It's not that most "food desert" denizens eat unhealthy food because grocers refuse to supply them with fruits and vegetables. Instead, grocers don't supply them with fruits and vegetables because the demand is insufficient. 

You mean poor people are endowed with free will and are therefore responsible for their own actions, just like everyone else?  Isn't that amazing?

So then, why do so many people refuse to admit that obesity is a matter of individual responsibility?  It seems to me that those claiming that the obese are helpless in their plight hail from the political left.  Leftists, as a general rule, don't believe in individual responsibility, and believe deeply in paternalistic, sugar daddy government.

If obesity is not a matter of individual responsibility, if instead it's the fault of those mean old Capitalists, that gives them an excuse (as if they ever need one) to demand more government intrusion in free markets - which is just another way of saying individuals' free will choices.

Before anyone claims that stating that obesity is a matter of individual responsibility is a form of "fat shaming", let's think about some questions.

What is more shameful; being helpless, or being in control of ones self?  What is more empowering; being at the mercy of outside forces, or having the power to control ones own actions?

The choice seems obvious to me.