Gratzer: The Conservative Case For Fighting Fat
David Gratzer writes at the Washington Examiner:
Does it really matter how many ribs Michelle Obama ate on her vacation? For too many conservatives, the answer seems to be yes, with pundits poking fun at the anti-obesity guru's dinner choice. But conservatives need to give it a rest: many seem to prefer scoring easy points against the First Lady to arguing about the best way to attack the obesity epidemic--and some even claim that obesity isn't really a problem.
Conservatives, though, should be concerned about obesity for five reasons.
Fat is fiscal. Obesity and resulting illnesses are a major cause of rising costs for Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance--now consuming ten cents of every health dollar spent.
Obesity affects national security, since thousands of recruits are turned away from military service because of failed physicals and poor overall health.
Obesity is a drag on America's competitiveness: it's now one of the leading causes of disability in the workforce.
Obesity contributes to government waste: at a time of record deficits, taxpayers are still on the hook as Congress continues to subsidize profitable agribusinesses that produce unhealthy foods.
Finally, obesity undermines the American dream, since the condition leads to a range of health woes that shorten the lifespan of millions of decent Americans who deserve better.
Some conservatives claim that none of this is a problem because obesity rates may have stabilized. Yet obesity isn't the same kind of problem as say, climate change, which is mostly an issue of what may happen in the future.
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