The State is now urging us to cut calories. Health Nazi Tommy Thompson offers this brilliant scientific advice: "Do you want to look better? Yes. Do you want to feel better? Yes," Thompson said. "You lower your calorie intake, you lower your fats, your carbs. You eat more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and you exercise. That's as simple as it can be. It is not too hard."
Big companies like Kraft are being pushed onward to curb their advertising to kids. Oreo cookies are the latest evil, and Kraft has promised to cut back on making them appear yummy to the kiddies.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman conceded the advice won't be new to Americans. But she said the estimated $42 billion the public spends each year on diet books and products reflects the widespread desire to get healthier.
"I think people have gotten the message that people need to take personal responsibility for what they do, and hopefully we can find ways to get this information" into the public consciousness, she said.
Maybe Ms. Veneman should understand that Americans buying $42M each year in diet products means that they have made the choice to go out and educate themselves, without the oppressive regulations of government to make their choices for them. That regular folks are out making decisions independent of government edict is just infuriating to the smug elites that make up The System.
Obviously, I have strong views on this, being an avid fitness bodybuilder these days. However, government, at all times and in all places, has exacerbated the health and fitness dilemma of its oppressed citizenry. The market is making good health and fitness accessible and affordable to all, and better yet, the wide array of good-health choices in the marketplace is reeling in myriad individuals on the margin that otherwise would not have been seduced by a healthy lifestyle. See Radley Balko's classic piece on how the government's food pyramid has been a disaster and a recipe for fatness.
