SKAGGS Blog

According to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health, two-thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese. But as the health care debate continues in Washington, members of the so-called “fat pride” community are fighting what they see as a national prejudice against fat people. As the New York Times reported recently, “heavier Americans are pushing back now with newfound vigor in the policy debate, lobbying legislators and trying to move public opinion to recognize their point of view: that thin does not necessarily equal fit, and that people can be healthy at any size.”

While we may come in all shapes and sizes, as the saying goes, overweight and obesity are more often caused by eating habits and lack of exercise than by the way individuals are born. The efforts made by the “fat pride” community may be well-intentioned, but they encourage us to ignore one of the most fundamental problems in our society: our eating habits. Rather than maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, many Americans eat too much, feel guilty, and then pursue miracle solutions like diet pills. Such behavior is terribly unhealthy and – in the case of diet pills – potentially addictive. Moreover, it weighs on the nation’s health care system.

With the holidays coming up, many of us will begin to indulge in more sweets, hors d’oeuvres, rich holiday meals and cocktails. The messages advertised on television, online and in store windows will be the same: indulge, indulge, indulge. During the Christmas season, the average American will gain over a pound. And while their waists are getting bigger, the food and pharmaceutical industries will be gaining revenue, financing future advertisements.

The preferred solution to staying fit during the holidays is also the simplest: eat well and exercise. Unfortunately, this philosophy doesn’t seem to sell so well.