Obesity study is heavy on oversimplification

By: Trice Whitefield
Newspaper: Washington Examiner

Re: “Most Americans could be too fat by 2030, study says,” July 29

If the recent dire predictions of future obesity rates are right, 100 percent of us will become overweight or obese in a matter of decades. Think about that. According to the study from Johns Hopkins, no one in America — not supermodels, not Olympic athletes, not a single movie star — would be normal or underweight.

Fat chance.

This study drastically oversimplifies weight gain, assuming a steady continuation of previous trends. (It’s like imagining that based on recent trends, smoking rates will soon drop to zero — an unlikely scenario.) In fact, the latest federal study found that child obesity rates haven’t increased in almost a decade and the rate among adults has slowed considerably.

Apocalyptic (and bogus) statistics of “skyrocketing” rates of obesity only serve to justify the increasingly intrusive government regulations sought by activist groups and overeager health officials.

Thankfully, individual decisions — not statistical models — determine our individual health.

Trice Whitefield Senior research analyst, Center for Consumer Freedom Washington