indulging in public spaces//taxed on their habit//targeted by public health campaigns//shunned socially?

An article from the Massachusetts General Hosp magazine:
http://protomag.com/assets/obesity-public-health

This society sure is screwed up!

Since obesity isn't contagious, I can't see it as a public health problem. In a society where medical costs are socialized, free obesity counseling and treatment may lessen these costs in the long run.

This govt/ doesn't have the right to tell people what to do, how to eat, how to live, what to think. I believe the Constitution deems liberty as the thing the govt. should be guaranteeing not limiting.

My goodness, re-read the above. I do not advocate what you are denouncing. Goverments may suggest in this realm, not compel.

Well, guaranteeing "the blessings of liberty", not liberty itself.

Which calls into question if the government can give you the blessings of liberty or even the appearance of it, without actually giving you any liberty.

It seemed to me that the article purposely reflected a variety of viewpoints on the subject, and didn't advocate for banning public food consumption or publicly ridiculing people who were obese at all.

The real question is, as this country continues to get sicker and sicker (prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and a host of other diseases that are co-morbid with obesity and often directly related), and our health care costs per person continue to increase, we need to face the fact that we need to provide some solid education and support programs to help people who are obese (and I've yet to meet someone who is obese that wants to be) lose weight and get to a healthy lifestyle. Did you know that for 96% of morbidly obese individuals with diabetes you can "cure" diabetes by having them lose weight? Without it you are facing a lifelong condition that requires expensive medial treatment, and often leads to circulation problems, diabetic nerve pain, sometimes even amputation.

Just like smoking, you can't tell someone not to eat fattening foods but you can provide them with an environment that is supportive of healthy food choices and exercise, which certainly isn't what we do now - there are candy and soda vending machines in schools, but no fresh fruit stands or carrot stick vending machines, and TV and print advertising for Tacobell encouraging kids to come eat their "fourth meal" (the meal between dinner and breakfast, late night - terrible idea, since you metabolize food more slowly in the evenings, and by the way their late night menu is not exactly healthy, take a look http://www.tacobell.com/fourthmeal/).

What I really loved was the idea that to help finance the costs of health reform one proposal put on the table (and thankfully off the table now, I believe) was to remove the tax deductability of advertising (it's considered a normal and usual business expense, so it's deducted before taxes) for pharmaceutical companies. Of course, the proposal would leave that in place for fast food companies, snack manufacturers, etc. Huh?

Regardless, we need to do something to help address runaway obesity in this country if we hope to have a healthy, economically sound country in the future.

Taking that concept one step further...

Except for that last one, actually, it does. Even that last one has been severely eroded by the 8 horrible years of Bush.

I remember when there used to be ashtrays at the bank. How much things have changed.

"Except for that last one, actually, it does. Even that last one has been severely eroded by the 8 horrible years of Bush."

Actually, where in the Constitution does it enumerate the government's ability/duty to supervise my eating, reading, sleeping, and exercise?

Did you leave out your sex life for a reason?

They don't have to specifically enumerated - the Constitution enables the creation and passage of legislation, which can be regulatory in nature.

FDA & USDA, among others, most definitely supervises what you eat.

The TSA, among others from the Bush era, thinks they can regulate what you read. Consider the number of people who have been detained at airports because of their selection of reading material or the T-shirt they were wearing.

Sleeping and exercise can be encouraged by incentive legislation. And the health care industry that the American Taliban Republicans are so loath to reform already does so by rationing health care and charging penalties for undesired behavior. Ever compare life and health insurance rates between smokers and non-smokers?

I guess she didn't feel it necessary to mention, since the republicans have desperately been trying to increase government control of that for decades.

Have you gone completely daft? Government is doing no such thing.