Still, the current fixation with obesity and its causes is alarming to me. Not because I wish to trivialize obesity, but because there are many who are confused regarding who is responsible. People are not obese because McDonald's sells hamburgers. American bulk is not due to restaurant portions sizes or a lack of healthy choices on menus. Obesity is caused not by advertising but by a lack of self control.
It is sad that so many Americans are obese. It is even more distressing that so many do not possess self control. This is an issue which causes problems far beyond simple obesity. The lack of discipline is visible in other areas as well, such as the explosion in consumer debt (and bankruptcy filings). In almost every area of life, education is helpful but only when coupled with self control.
This is the same issue I have with most sex education. It is important to teach the risks of sexual contact along with the value of self control. However, the common approach is to assume that the kids cannot control themselves. Thus the goal is simply to train them how to 'protect' themselves when they inevitably do have sex. The result is young men and women who are not only unable to resist sexual urges but also often fail to muster enough self control to implement the protections they have been educated to use.
With obesity, limiting the size of portions will have no effect. People intent on eating more will simply order another portion. Limiting the number of portions will simply encourage overeaters to move from restaurant to restaurant. The only path to reducing obesity comes from inside the individual.
And don't even get me started on buffet-style restaurants. Too late. I will just have to address those in a future post.
