Balance of Food

Ran across this article thanks to the Lean Plate Club (yes, I do a lot of reading). His analogy to smoking and obesity is a bit off. You don't have to smoke, you do have to eat. And yes, the costs of obesity are only going to get worse. But does the badgering that smokers have received in the last few decades apply to those "larger than they want to be"? There are a handful of ways to quit smoking, but tons of ways to lose weight. Instead of punishing people, let's try something positive. After all, even if you are a smoker, your teasing level isn't all that high, and likely didn't start until adulthood. If you've always been the fat kid, you've been that way for a lot longer, and subject to much more ridicule than the typical smoker. Plus, any fast food tax punishes those who indulge occasionally, and might even punish someone picking a salad for those places. These are not "punishable" behaviors. Yes, something should be done. But this isn't the way to go.