In a 48-page report, the Institute of Medicine “refutes the idea that obesity is largely the result of a lack of willpower on the part of individuals.” [You know the IOM, the same folks who brought you the “98,000 people are killed each year by medical errors” report, the accuracy of which has been challenged.]
According to a spokesman for the IOM, “"When you see the increase in obesity you ask, what changed? And the answer is, the environment. The average person cannot maintain a healthy weight in this obesity-promoting environment."
The report goes on to say, “People cannot truly exercise ‘personal choice’ because their options are severely limited, and biased toward the unhealthy end of the continuum."
Quoting further from an
article about this revelation from the IOM, “The panel recommended tax incentives for developers to build sidewalks and trails in new housing developments, zoning changes to require pedestrian access and policies to promote bicycle commuting.”
"We've taken fat and sugar, put it in everything everywhere, and made it socially acceptable to eat all the time. We're living in a food carnival, constantly bombarded by food cues, almost all of them unhealthy," said David Kessler, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Maybe Kessler should have done something about this when he was in charge of the FDA.
Are they serious?
Things like this really aggravate me. [Lots of things aggravate me.]
Everyone who drinks alcohol doesn’t become an alcoholic. The IOM says it's not willpower. How is it then that some who are exposed to the same environmental factors and food cues as obese people manage to maintain a normal weight?
How much did the IOM’s 48-page report cost and who paid for it?
Do you think building sidewalks and promoting bicycle commuting will really decrease obesity?
What do you think of the IOM report?
A version of this post appeared on
Sermo yesterday. Most of those who commented felt that the IOM was out of touch with reality or al least, mistaken.
