Help! I've Reached the Obesity Tipping Point, and I Can't Get Up!

Jacob Sullum | August 25, 2009

Before I tell you about the latest announcement from the the STOP Obesity Alliance, let me take a few sentences to remark on how dumb the name of this organization is. STOP stands for "Strategies to Overcome and Prevent," which adds absolutely nothing to the public's understanding of what the group is about, serving only as an excuse to put stop in capital letters, which apparently is something the alliance's leaders really, really wanted to do. Compounding the stupidity, the group's logo reads "STOP Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance," which makes it sound as if the alliance is promoting obesity.

That may not be too far from the truth. The alliance's major financial backers, as the tiny print at the bottom of its homepage informs us, are sanofi-aventis and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, both manufacturers of weight loss drugs. That does not mean we should automatically reject whatever the STOP Obesity Alliance has to say about the magnitude of the "obesity epidemic" and the importance of fighting it with taxpayer money, but the organization should be treated at least as skeptically as an oil company talking about global warming or a corn farmer extolling the benefits of ethanol. Keep that in mind the week after next, when the alliance plans to release "a concise set of obesity-specific recommendations to help guide policymakers' efforts to effectively address obesity, citing actionable solutions for improvement based on Alliance principles." (I assume that one of those principles is coverage of weight loss drugs by taxpayer-supported health insurance.) The event will feature two former surgeons general, Richard Carmona and David Satcher, who will "explore whether America has reached its tipping point on obesity."

I admit that I'm intrigued. Not only don't I know whether America has reached its obesity tipping point; I don't even know what that means. It sounds like what happens to a fat guy when he leans forward too much, but probably it's more like the point of no return beyond which everyone in the country will look like the floating blimps in WALL-E. If that's what Carmona and Satcher intend to talk about, I admire their chutzpah, especially in light of recent data indicating that weight trends have leveled off.

Similarly, in the wake of a CDC report indicating that life expectancy at birth continues to rise in the U.S., the STOP Obesity Alliance warns that "we are now facing the first generation of children not expected to live longer than their parents' generation." This claim is a bit less pessimistic than the projection of Yale obesity maven Kelly Brownell, who warns that "today's children may be the first in American history to live shorter lives than their parents" because "the food industry is granted free and unencumbered access" to them. Still, the STOP Obesity Alliance's emphasis on the life-shortening effects of extra pounds seems inconsistent with its concern about health care costs ("obesity costs the nation $147 billion in healthcare costs each year"), since overcoming and preventing obesity would raise medical spending over the long term by extending life spans.

A few weeks ago, I explained why anti-obesity measures in the Senate health care bill won't save taxpayers money.

Comments

Paul|8.25.09 @ 7:38PM|#

STOP Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance," which makes it sound as if the alliance is promoting obesity.

At the fine healthcare organization (Which supports Plan Obama!) we have a youth/teen clinic which deals with the 'poor/underserved community' (something that doesn't exist if you follow Big D talking points). One of the positions in the clinic was a social worker who was the-- I shit you not-- "Substance Abuse Advocate".

I pointed this irony out to the clinic manger, and after that she said she never saw the job the same way again.

EJM|8.25.09 @ 7:40PM|#

That does mean we should automatically reject whatever the STOP Obesity Alliance has to say about the magnitude of the "obesity epidemic" and the importance of fighting it with taxpayer money, but the organization should be treated at least as skeptically as an oil company talking about global warming or a corn farmer extolling the benefits of ethanol.

Just in case, I think you meant to say, "That does not mean...".

Paul|8.25.09 @ 7:41PM|#

The event will feature two former surgeons general, Richard Carmona and David Satcher,

Do either of these two have the beard sans moustache? I really miss that in my surgeon general.

Craig|8.25.09 @ 7:41PM|#

...plans to release a concise set of obesity-specific recommendations to help guide policymakers' efforts to effectively address obesity, citing actionable solutions for improvement...

Or they could just let people deal with it on their own or not, as they choose. No one likes being on the receiving end of someone else's "actionable solution".

The Libertarian Guy|8.25.09 @ 7:46PM|#

Well, it's obvious now... the Constitution clearly gives government the power to tell us what we can and cannot eat.

|8.25.09 @ 7:47PM|#

You people just dont seem to get it.*tweek* The feds need to tell us what we need on a regular basis. I dream of a day when i wake up and the first thing waiting for me in the morning *tweek* is a list that breaks everything down for me for the entire day. What i eat, how i eat it, what i wear, how i talk, what i do..... it would be glorious....

Now where did i put that crack pipe, i need another hit.....

Paul|8.25.09 @ 7:52PM|#

the Constitution clearly gives government the power to tell us what we can and cannot eat.

It's called the War on Drugs. What's that? Has nothing to do with drugs? We've established the government can tell you what you put into your body, this just extends that premise a wee bit. I hear-tell we're a'teeterin' on the edge of reversing this here war on drugs. Any day now.

Joel|8.25.09 @ 7:52PM|#

I admire their chutzpah, especially in light of recent data indicating that weight trends have leveled off.

A good crisis is a terrible thing to waste, Jacob.

hcrana|8.25.09 @ 8:11PM|#

which makes it sound as if the alliance is promoting obesity

Also, Paul is dead.

|8.25.09 @ 8:15PM|#

absolutely its the government's duty to tell me what to put into my body, i mean what do you expect me to do? think for myself?

|8.25.09 @ 8:25PM|#

I admire their chutzpah, especially in light of recent data indicating that weight trends have leveled off.

Nothing a little more tweaking of the BMI can't solve.

|8.25.09 @ 8:53PM|#

"obesity costs the nation $147 billion in healthcare costs each year"

And being able to mock the fatties is worth every penny.

|8.25.09 @ 8:55PM|#

Aresen,
I am big boned AND I have a glandular condition. You can't mock my fat ass. I have my ADA attorney on speed dial thank you very much.

B|8.25.09 @ 9:03PM|#

"...the food industry is granted free and unencumbered access..."

Yeah, it's all the food industry's fault. These people need to learn that perhaps a few more people would listen to what they had to say if they were a wee bit less totalitarian.

short, fat bastard|8.25.09 @ 9:07PM|#

Anyone who comes for my twinkies should note that I'm a libertarian who believes in the 2nd.

Plant Immigration Rights Suppo|8.25.09 @ 9:11PM|#

For some reason the title of this article made me think of the movie WALL•E rather than a commercial for LifeLInk.

|8.25.09 @ 9:19PM|#

Mr. Bastard, i'm thinkin Twinkie defense.

short, fat bastard|8.25.09 @ 9:23PM|#

Mr. Bastard, i'm thinkin Twinkie defense.

Straightforward justifiable homicide in my opinion.

T|8.25.09 @ 9:25PM|#

Don't the chubbers have longer life spans anyway?

|8.25.09 @ 9:27PM|#

I admire their chutzpah, especially in light of recent data indicating that weight trends have leveled off.

Is obesity the new global warming?

-jcr

Robert|8.25.09 @ 9:31PM|#

Presumably the obesity tipping point would be that beyond which the obese had so much political power they could never be voted out.

|8.25.09 @ 9:34PM|#

Presumably the obesity tipping point would be that beyond which the obese had so much political power they could never be voted out.

I thought the obesity tipping point was when they shifted the Earth's axis.

|8.25.09 @ 9:37PM|#

I thought the obesity tipping point would be when there are so many fatties in the U.S. that ole mother earth flips over and the poles change and the weather becomes catastrophic. The biggest of the fatties just fall away from the earth since gravity is unreliable due to the massive shift in weight. But that's just me.

|8.25.09 @ 9:37PM|#

sunofabitch I'm late again.

Paul|8.25.09 @ 9:46PM|#

sunofabitch I'm late again.

It's ok, I didn't even think of it...

GILMORE|8.25.09 @ 9:49PM|#

Has there ever been a sincere "Just Tax-The-Fatties" proposal?

Nipplemancer|8.25.09 @ 10:00PM|#

no, i think you get a tax credit for being obese, that way you can pay for your extra health (food) expenses

|8.25.09 @ 10:07PM|#

Clearly we need cap and trade for the obese.

I'll gladly take your cash for my Ding-Dong™ and cracklin' credits.

|8.25.09 @ 10:10PM|#

What we need is to stimulate the fast food industry with a Cash For Chubsters program.

|8.25.09 @ 10:16PM|#

What we need is a bounty. $100 per head, $250 alive.

Hunt them down! They can't run that fast or for very long!

The Angry Optimist|8.25.09 @ 10:33PM|#

GILMORE:

How soon you forget, my son.

Nipplemancer|8.25.09 @ 10:38PM|#

JW - they can't run fast.

why pay more for alive? if you're gonna put out a bounty, make it fun.
"Shoot a Fatty for Uncle Sam!"

|8.25.09 @ 10:53PM|#

I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!

Slip me another cigar, Bill.

|8.25.09 @ 10:55PM|#

What part do we have to turn in for the bounty. I got a bad back and I ain't packin a plumper anywhere.

|8.25.09 @ 11:08PM|#

Why not just have the new national health insurance cover liposuction?

Nipplemancer|8.25.09 @ 11:16PM|#

brotherben - polaroids and a pinky should be sufficient. i don't think we want to hurt anyone's back while performing such a public service.

Chubulor Corpulens II|8.25.09 @ 11:16PM|#

What we need is a bounty. $100 per head, $250 alive.

Cash 4 Plumpers?

|8.25.09 @ 11:18PM|#

For $250 a pop you should be able to afford a pretty powerful wheelbarrow. You gotta spend money to make money in this world, bub.

Nipplemancer|8.25.09 @ 11:19PM|#

if you're not able to get to urban outfitters to purchase Polaroid 700 film packs, then you'll have to get an 'old fashioned' camera and provide the negatives.
no one remembers how to fake those anymore - retrotech = security by default

The Libertarian Guy|8.25.09 @ 11:32PM|#

"It's called the War on Drugs. What's that? Has nothing to do with drugs? We've established the government can tell you what you put into your body, this just extends that premise a wee bit. I hear-tell we're a'teeterin' on the edge of reversing this here war on drugs. Any day now.@

Yep, Paul, you're right... obviously, the Food & Drug Administration should be in charge of telling us Twinkies should be placed on Schedule I.

Or would the DEA be in charge of that? I can't keep the alphabet agencies straight.

Whatever, it's clear that Krispy Kremes should be a controlled substance.

"Psst! Hey, bub! Wanna buy a cruller? Fifteen bucks, m'man, hot'n'fresh! You'll be trippin' for hours, yo!"

GILMORE|8.25.09 @ 11:39PM|#

The Angry Optimist | August 25, 2009, 10:33pm | #
GILMORE:

How soon you forget, my son.

Har! that hurts. You'd think that would be top of mind for me...

but I literally meant, "tax fat PEOPLE"; sincerely curious if anyone's ever floated the concept outside of a weak comedy routine.

Nipplemancer|8.25.09 @ 11:47PM|#

GILMORE: then you have to get politicians to determine what exactly fat is and who is to assess it. is the fat tax flat or is it progressive? can i buy fat credits and trade them on the open market?
what happens in twenty years? we can wind up at a point where the Kate Mosses of the future are paying a Fat Tax because not enough ribs are visible.
We should just stick to the aforementioned 'open season' approach. it's way more fun.

Joe M|8.26.09 @ 12:17AM|#

Agh. When will it end? Let's just bust out the chains and get it over with.

GILMORE|8.26.09 @ 12:36AM|#

Nipplemancer | August 25, 2009, 11:47pm | #

I see your point.

I got first dibs on Mo'nique

Anonymous|8.26.09 @ 1:28AM|#

I'm not fat, I'm just considered obese by the government despite having the longest estimated life span in my cohort!

The Libertarian Guy|8.26.09 @ 1:31AM|#

Speaking of fat people:

Ted Kennedy is dead.











Mary Jo Kopechne can finally rest in peace.

Paul|8.26.09 @ 1:41AM|#

Thread jack!!!!

TED KENNEDY DEAD AT 77

The Libertarian Guy|8.26.09 @ 1:42AM|#

Oops... too soon? I mean, the fat murdering bastard isn't even room temp yet... how about a little decorum for the dearly departed?


Eh, fuck it. Karma finally caught up to his ass.

The Libertarian Guy|8.26.09 @ 2:03AM|#

Hey, these deaths usually come in threes, right?
Who wants to take bets on the other two?

I'll put down five bucks each on Robert Byrd and Newt Gingrich as the next to kick the political bucket. Who's in?

|8.26.09 @ 3:51AM|#

Ted Kennedy is dead.

He's the latest in a very long line of people who didn't deserve to die of old age.

-jcr

Spartacus|8.26.09 @ 6:39AM|#

One of the positions in the clinic was a social worker who was the-- I shit you not-- "Substance Abuse Advocate".

Damn. You can get paid for that? I could have had a whole different career track.

Rich|8.26.09 @ 8:36AM|#

I thought the "Obesity GPS"might be cool, until I found out what it really is.

hurlybuerhle|8.26.09 @ 9:40AM|#

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. There is no obesity epidemic. The whole concern is drawn from national survey data measuring BMI; that's all. Aside from the fact that you can't measure BMI accurately in a survey, it's a really piss-poor measure of obesity. You know who else has high BMIs? Really fit people. So, what does the Alliance propose to do about them?

|8.26.09 @ 9:45AM|#

OK, so we are supposed to buy less stuff, consume less stuff, use less stuff, and now, eat less stuff.

What is that? About 1,000,000 jobs?

Why is that the same people who want to make sure everyone is employed at $50/yr ALSO want to make sure there are no jobs available at all.

|8.26.09 @ 9:51AM|#

hurlybuerhle - my BMI is 28.6+ (I'm 6'2, 230). Firmly "overweight."

Yet I work out 3-4 days a week. Some cardio, more lifting. I'm not anywhere near "buff," just strong and in pretty good shape. If you saw me, you'd describe me as average, or even thin.

And I'm almost "obese" in BMI.

|8.26.09 @ 9:58AM|#

Soooooo .... let me summarize the point of the article; there is NO obesity problem in the U.S. and this is all a fabrication/conspiracy engineered by pharmaceutical companies wanting to sell their drugs ... right? Now, I feel enlightened.

Claiming that be to fearful that the government is going to tell you what to eat is just so disingenuous that it can hardly deserve a comment.

Incidentally, obesity has many of the attributes of what economists call a (negative) 'externality' (like, for instance, pollution). In other words, 'enjoyment' of one's obesity comes at the unavoidable expense/cost/discomfort of others. The most graphic way of making the point is to ask you to visualize the case of someone sitting next to an obese person in a cramped airplane. This is of course not the most significant social cost of obesity. Its real social cost is the additional burden it put on healthcare resources (including the billions of dollars wasted on gyms and diet programs).

What is the economically rational way of dealing with obesity? Economics 101: use targeted taxes and subsidies. This is what Mike Bloomberg is trying to do in New York with his proposed taxes on junk foods.

coyote1284|8.26.09 @ 10:17AM|#

By the way, since when has a 6' tall, 190lb., 30 y.o. male with a 35" waist been considered "overweight"?

|8.26.09 @ 10:40AM|#

Soooooo .... let me summarize the point of the article; there is NO obesity problem in the U.S.

No, that wasn't it at all. FAIL at reading comprehension.

Claiming that be to fearful that the government is going to tell you what to eat is just so disingenuous that it can hardly deserve a comment.

But yet, you did comment.

What is the economically rational way of dealing with obesity? Economics 101: use targeted taxes and subsidies. This is what Mike Bloomberg is trying to do in New York with his proposed taxes on junk foods.

Oh no, this isn't guvmint interference in what you eat at all. Nosiree. Nope. Nothing of the sort. Not one bit.

Oh, but since they didn't "tell" you what you couldn't eat, that's OK. I'm sure they'll stop tight there. No slippery slope for them. Nope. No way Jose. It's just this one time.

Benevolent coercion for the thug win.

|8.26.09 @ 10:40AM|#

tight=right

:::sigh:::

The Libertarian Guy|8.26.09 @ 10:58AM|#

Right on, JW. The Food Police and Fat Tax cheerleaders are treading on some slippery-assed slopeage here.

Nobody takes my fuckin' cheesecake, yo.

|8.26.09 @ 11:29AM|#

Anyone who claims there is no obesity epidemic doesn't get out much. If you sit in a mall or airport for a little while you'll see waddling past you people who are so fat that a few decades ago others would actually pay money to see them in a circus freak show. Now they're on every corner.

BMI isn't a perfect measure of excess weight (waist measurement is a lot better) but it's close enough for 95% of the population. Yes, according to BMI Arnold S. (before he let himself go) was obese, as is The Rock, etc. How many people you see walking around who are built like that?

hurlybuehrle|8.26.09 @ 11:33AM|#

@Pablo: "Now they're on every corner".

Ah, there's no evidence like nebulous, broad-brush, anecdotal evidence!

|8.26.09 @ 11:58AM|#

Anyone who claims there is no obesity epidemic doesn't get out much.

Actually, anyone who claims that there is an "epidemic" of something that is not a communicable disease, is talking straight out of their ass.

It could be a big, lumbering, fat ass, but I leave that to you.

|8.26.09 @ 12:00PM|#

Nobody takes my fuckin' cheesecake, yo.

Word.

Here's a thought of the day to all the brave and tireless Fatty Wranglers:

WHY DON'T YOU MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS?

|8.26.09 @ 1:00PM|#

JW--point taken, and poor choice of words on my part. I should have said "Anyone who claims there aren't more human blimps walking around these days doesn't get out much."

Zeb|8.26.09 @ 1:59PM|#

"Actually, anyone who claims that there is an "epidemic" of something that is not a communicable disease, is talking straight out of their ass."

This cannot be repeated often enough. Just because you can apply statistical analysis to a phenomenon in a similar way to how epidemics are studied does not mean it is an epidemic.

Anonymous|8.26.09 @ 2:47PM|#

Pablo,

"If you sit in a mall or airport"

I don't go to either. Maybe that's why I see fewer fat people.

The Libertarian Guy|8.26.09 @ 7:35PM|#

"Here's a thought of the day to all the brave and tireless Fatty Wranglers:

WHY DON'T YOU MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS?"

Good on ya, JW. Unfortunately, we live in a society that allows trans-fat bans (it's not a mind-altering substance, folks), is toying with "sin taxes" on fattening food and soda (helllloooo, black market!), and other touchy-feelyisms from the do-gooder brigade.

We're just a nation of 300 million children, after all.

|8.28.09 @ 3:23PM|#

The only way to improve a good thing is to make more of it!...
If it tastes good...eat it!