Pretty much everything Pesky Persian said. I hope more posts in this thread will be similar.
Obesity is an...interesting topic, especially for non-Americans. It's the country with the highest obesity ratings - most other countries aren't anywhere
close to it, and a huge part of it is simply the culture, especially with regards to food. Not only is unhealthy food cheap and plentiful, but actual eating habits tend to be pretty atrocious. A huge part of eating healthy isn't just about eating healthy foods, but it's also about one's
relationship with food. Controlling how often we eat, how big our portions are,
why we eat and so on are vital to eating healthy, but a lot of people simply aren't aware of that. And unfortunately, someone without that knowledge can pass on those unhealthy habits to others, mainly family. Other countries simply tend to have a different relationship with food.
I also want to emphasize the idiocy of the BMI scale. Not only was it never actually intended to measure health, but it focuses on all the wrong data. For instance, because it calculates based on weight alone, it doesn't take into account that
muscles weighs more than fat, so you can get perfectly healthy athletes who are "obese" according to the BMI scale. There are
far better indicators of health.
Lastly, this is just an observation, but has anyone noticed the make-you-fat-make-you-lose-fat culture? Food corporations want as much of their products consumed as possible. They spend ridiculous amounts of money to convince people to eat. But those people live within a culture that shames fat. So you have beauty and health companies who swear they'll help eliminate that fat, because to them, far =/= beautiful. It's much more profitable for such companies to make you feel awful about yourself so you'll buy their products, and who is it easy to make feel awful about themselves? Fat people.
I know that health is important but please do not force it on the public. If people want to eat until they go into a diabetic coma, then let them. Like smoking and drinking all we can do is educate people on the subject.
It is actually one of the moral duties of doctors to ensure patients are in the best possible health. No doctor wants their patient to "eat until they go into a coma" - it's irresponsible on both their parts. And there are consequences to eating in excess without any consideration. (After all, who wants to pay hospital bills or buy a wheelchair on an extra seat on a plane?)
Also, your drinking and smoking analogies make me uncomfortable. Of course people can do what they want, but doing either of those in excess is dangerous not only for the individual, but also for
others. But that's a whole other story.
~Psychic