This baffling article by David Leonard about trying to control fatness through punitive measures at the NY Times really drove home to me how much I'm convinced that the issue of what causes obesity---one that gets the bulk of the attention in discussing the topic---is a red herring. Outside of policies designed to make it easier for Americans to eat right and exercise, ideally policies that make eating right and exercising easier than not doing so, I don't really see the value in discourse about individual responsibility. The notion that people are fat because we aren't hard enough on them doesn't gel with reality. In the real world, fat people are subject to so much social disapproval and punishment that it's traumatizing for some. The high levels of punishment for fatness now haven't done a damn thing to reverse the trend of growing waistlines for Americans. You can believe that obesity has no relationship to diet and exercise, or you can believe, as a scientist in this article states, that the law of conservation of matter is the relevant one when talking about weight gain and loss, but everyone in this discussion thinks Americans would do well to eat better and exercise more. And since we've seen that the punitive approach doesn't work, then it's time to shift gears, no matter where you stand on the science issues.
Groups advocating the repeal of the military's discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy are meeting at the White House Tuesday -- but as they've come to find out, some topics are off limits.