4 ms·

It's sad there are still many (including in this thread) who minimize the role of fast food outlets in raising obesity rates by appealing to some moralized and

It's sad there are still many (including in this thread) who minimize the role of fast food outlets in raising obesity rates by appealing to some moralized and frankly religious notion of "personal responsibility." What the science tells us is that if you put people in different environments, they will behave differently. Especially when the reward is designed to be as compelling as possible. Obesity is one of the greatest epidemics in the world today. There is no reason why anyone should have to compete against thousands of food scientists trying to tear down their willpower as a matter of daily course. Their failure to do so is in no way a failure of "personal responsibility." It is a failure of the designers of their world to be on their side in the first place. To assert otherwise is not only cruelly ideological, but utterly unscientific.

ryanx435 9y ago
Every one's a victim, eh? Let's just make all "fast food" illegal. does that include subway and Jimmy John's? What about Chipotle? How about pizza? Or Chinese takeout? What about Applebee's? Their burgers are pretty bad for you. Also we'd probably have to include kfc. Actually any place that sells deep fried chicken. So I guess we should just outlaw all restaurants because people have no agency and can't make their own decisions. /S But on a serious note, there are healthy people in America that exist within the same environment that you are blaming obesity on and that face the same societal pressures. Explain to me their magic that prevents them from being obese.
- pixl97 9y ago
  Obesity rates have gone up dramatically to the point that the majority of the population is considered obese,obviously the part that isn't obese is a statistical outlier, and not the norm.
darawk 9y ago
The fact that in an experiment people changed their behavior based on environmental cues does not disprove the notion of personal responsibility. If you think you have disproven personal responsibility, then you have disproven free will. And if you have disproven free will, then who is your comment trying to convince? That being said, the truth of this particular matter lies somewhere in the middle. It's personal responsibility and it's exploitation on the part of the fast food chains. Saying it's all one or all the other is equally wrong.
- userpass 9y ago
  > And if you have disproven free will, then who is your comment trying to convince? The environment includes those humans around you that try to convince you.
DINKDINK 9y ago
>To assert otherwise is not only cruelly ideological, but utterly unscientific. Your argument is: Obese people need saving, we should pass laws to limit their choices so that they're not so obese. Do you have any evidence that obese people want their choices taken away from them? Should people not have the right to make choices about how their body is? Claiming that you don't think the government should be in the business of controlling what people do to their own bodies is consistent with being pro drug-use decriminalization/(anti prohibition), pro euthanasia rights, pro abortion rights. What 'bad' behaviors do you have that the government should tell you how to live your life?
- zyx321 9y ago
  What about regulating what corporations to reduce the constant pressure pushing people to make bad decisions? The UK has banned junk food ads in or around content targeted at children. New York tried to regulate soda sizes, which would have forced companies to rebrand their 'XXL' sizes as '3 servings' if it had passed. Maybe I'm naive, but I do believe that many people would make better choices, were they better informed.

ryanx435 9y ago

Every one's a victim, eh? Let's just make all "fast food" illegal. does that include subway and Jimmy John's? What about Chipotle? How about pizza? Or Chinese takeout? What about Applebee's? Their burgers are pretty bad for you. Also we'd probably have to include kfc. Actually any place that sells deep fried chicken. So I guess we should just outlaw all restaurants because people have no agency and can't make their own decisions. /S But on a serious note, there are healthy people in America that exist within the same environment that you are blaming obesity on and that face the same societal pressures. Explain to me their magic that prevents them from being obese.

pixl97 9y ago
Obesity rates have gone up dramatically to the point that the majority of the population is considered obese,obviously the part that isn't obese is a statistical outlier, and not the norm.

darawk 9y ago

The fact that in an experiment people changed their behavior based on environmental cues does not disprove the notion of personal responsibility. If you think you have disproven personal responsibility, then you have disproven free will. And if you have disproven free will, then who is your comment trying to convince? That being said, the truth of this particular matter lies somewhere in the middle. It's personal responsibility and it's exploitation on the part of the fast food chains. Saying it's all one or all the other is equally wrong.

userpass 9y ago
> And if you have disproven free will, then who is your comment trying to convince? The environment includes those humans around you that try to convince you.

DINKDINK 9y ago

>To assert otherwise is not only cruelly ideological, but utterly unscientific. Your argument is: Obese people need saving, we should pass laws to limit their choices so that they're not so obese. Do you have any evidence that obese people want their choices taken away from them? Should people not have the right to make choices about how their body is? Claiming that you don't think the government should be in the business of controlling what people do to their own bodies is consistent with being pro drug-use decriminalization/(anti prohibition), pro euthanasia rights, pro abortion rights. What 'bad' behaviors do you have that the government should tell you how to live your life?

zyx321 9y ago
What about regulating what corporations to reduce the constant pressure pushing people to make bad decisions? The UK has banned junk food ads in or around content targeted at children. New York tried to regulate soda sizes, which would have forced companies to rebrand their 'XXL' sizes as '3 servings' if it had passed. Maybe I'm naive, but I do believe that many people would make better choices, were they better informed.