This is interesting and you should read it.
In an ambitious 478-page report, the IOM refutes the idea that obesity is largely the result of a lack of willpower on the part of individuals. Instead, it embraces policy proposals that have met with stiff resistance from the food industry and lawmakers, arguing that multiple strategies will be needed to make the U.S. environment less "obesogenic."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-usa-health-obesity-idUSBRE8470LC20120508
The traditional view that blames obesity on a failure of personal responsibility and individual willpower "has been used as the basis for resisting government efforts - legislative and regulatory - to address the problem," says the report. But the IOM panel argues that people cannot truly exercise "personal choice" because their options are severely limited, and "biased toward the unhealthy end of the continuum."
For instance, a lack of sidewalks makes it impossible to safely walk to work, school or even neighbors' homes in many communities. So while 20 percent of trips between school and home among kids 5 to 15 were on foot in 1977, that figure had dropped to 12.5 percent by 2001.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-usa-health-obesity-idUSBRE8470LC20120508
The traditional view that blames obesity on a failure of personal responsibility and individual willpower "has been used as the basis for resisting government efforts - legislative and regulatory - to address the problem," says the report. But the IOM panel argues that people cannot truly exercise "personal choice" because their options are severely limited, and "biased toward the unhealthy end of the continuum."
For instance, a lack of sidewalks makes it impossible to safely walk to work, school or even neighbors' homes in many communities. So while 20 percent of trips between school and home among kids 5 to 15 were on foot in 1977, that figure had dropped to 12.5 percent by 2001.