It’s More Than Personal Responsibility

Read this from the NY Times:

 Kelly D. Brownell, a professor of psychology and epidemiology, is the director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

Much of the national debate on obesity hinges on the meaning of two words: personal responsibility. Evoked by the food industry as an argument against government action, these words are used intentionally to shift blame to individuals with the problem rather than the conditions responsible for it. Are rising rates of obesity in every corner of the world due to irresponsible behavior?

Public action to promote better foods in schools and less marketing of unhealthy foods is needed.

This stance has many problems. Most notably, it is wrong. Individuals in the U.S. are behaving more responsibly in many areas of health (mammograms, prostate exams, smoking, drinking, using seatbelts, etc.). Americans who otherwise are behaving responsibly, however, are not consuming healthy diets, showing how dire the food environment has become.

Modern food conditions are toxic and exposure to them reliably increases obesity rates. This was seen first in the U.S. and other developed countries and now is clear even in unlikely places like India, China and Brazil. There are many facets of this food picture. Huge portion sizes, economics that make healthy foods cost too much and unhealthy foods cost too little, ubiquitous access to high-calorie foods and relentless food marketing are a few examples.

Until recently, government has reacted to this reality by playing cheerleader, doing little more than imploring from the sidelines for people to exert more effort and lose weight. That picture has now changed, sometimes at a dizzying pace, and elected officials at all levels of government are taking action.

Personal responsibility is important and everything possible should be done to enhance it, but how can the nation reach this goal? It starts with a philosophy in which Americans, children particularly, deserve better nutrition conditions, ones that make healthy choices more likely. Better foods in schools, less marketing of unhealthy foods, economic policies that change prices of healthy and unhealthy foods,and crackdowns on misleading nutrition claims on packages are examples of constructive and needed public action.