Cheeseburgers and Visas

The CDC reports that an estimated 30 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 years and older - over 60 million people - are obese" and that "an estimated 65 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 years and older are either overweight or obese".

Okay, we knew America was fat, but that fat? On Friday the Washington Post reported that the American Psychiatric Association is debating whether to add compulsive buying to its list of psychiatric disorders. (link) This began after a study concluded that 2-16% of consumers are impulsive buyers, feeling regret, anxiety and despair after their purchases. What does this have to do with the Obesity epidemic? Well, deliberations are also being cast as to whether or not obesity ought to be classified as a disease.

These are unquestionably legitimate problems that can spawn serious impacts, but classifying them as diseases may unleash a whole other can of worms. For one, the way Medical Institutions in the States deal with diseases, typically ignoring root causes, will land some millions of people on prescription medication. Although I have no personal bone to pick with medicinally treating conditions, I question this route when it requires turning ones cheek in the face of blatancy: perhaps more complex explanations.

Have millions of Americans spun so out of control that they can’t manage what’s going into their bodies, and what’s coming out of their wallets? What are the other possible explanations for people eating and buying so much that it’s causing them physical and pyschological harm?

(Added 1/31/07) For Answer see: http://depts.washington.edu/eqhlth/