So you're saying that nobody would be obese if it weren't for benefits programs? That is utter bunk. There are plenty of obese people that work for a living. M

So you're saying that nobody would be obese if it weren't for benefits programs? That is utter bunk. There are plenty of obese people that work for a living. More likely culprits: * The "cheapness" and accessibility of junky food. * The inaccessibility of heathy food in poor neighbourhoods (which may only have a corner store that primarily sells processed, packaged foods and no fresh veggies). * The creep of sugar/HFCS into everything. * The optimization techniques used by junk food companies to determine the right balance of taste so that people don't do things like eat in short bursts, but get sick of the flavour fast. [They basically run a ton of focus-groups on a bunch of small variations of the formula until they get one where people can -- for the most part -- just keep eating and eating it without getting sick of it.] If you liked potato chips, but got sick of the flavour after a single "serving" then you would eat fewer chips.