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by Lucas Dobson

Created on: June 03, 2008

Overweight individuals are commonly depicted by the media and in popular entertainment as lazy and gluttonous at worst, and as victims of heredity at best. But with the obesity rates soaring, to include one third of Americans, is it really possible that a huge part of the population just let their bodies go, or could there be something else at work here? Considering our generally high standards of living and access to health clubs, there are seemingly few justifications for excessive weight gain. If weight gain is preventable, the reasoning goes, then overweight people have chosen to become that way.

In many areas of life, personal responsibility can be overshadowed by unfavorable circumstances. Too often, the necessities of life create some problems while solving others. For instance, our jobs may adversly effect our eating habits. This may be in the form of peer pressure, such as an obligatory luncheon with the co-workers. Then there are the subtle, often manipulative influences such as those presented in advertisements. Or a much needed snack after an unexpectedly long day at lunch. Just as people facing starvation and are usually powerless to fight it, a population with obesity rates reaching epidemic proportions can be seen as similarly disempowered. The fact is, people are getting fatter because there is hardly any other choice.

Pervasive advertising renders us incapable of keeping food off of our minds. Just as erotic imagery can and will trigger a physiological response, so too will images of food result in a desire to eat. The marketers who are plastering giant images of burgers on television screens and on the billboards know something consumers generally do not: that the appetite is conditioned by environmental cues. This is known as the "environmental theory of obesity", and is based upon our well known psychological responses and how these interact with the conditions of modern life.

If we examine our busy workdays, sedentary lifestyles, and bad dieting, we are left with a perfect explanation for the alarming statistics. Instead of stigmatizing overweight people we should be helping them. The healing process begins by correcting our attitudes towards our shared predicament. We must treat the causes, not scoff at the effects. This of course goes against years of cultural conditioning and our shared values which attach a great deal of importance to individual responsibility. Thus, while it may seem natural to blame an overweight person for their own state, it is this very attitude which covers up the causes and solutions of the problem itself.

Our nations health is a mutual responsibility, and we must all share in the solution.

http://arti cles.latimes.com/200 8/jan/14/health/he-w eightloss14

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