(2009) Americans are fat people by and large. Stuffed with statistics (as a nation the US is 5 billion pounds overweight) and scores of experts expressing their opinions (Dr Shawn Talbott notes that human beings are programmed to desire food and sex all the time), producer/director Steven Greenstreet's documentary film is highly educational but low in sugary entertainment.

It won't attract the audience it most needs to inform with grossly disturbing images of an obese 12-year-old girl having liposuction; seven moths later she was already fat again. A fat teacher instructs his high-school students on health and nutrition; a chunky PE teacher talks about the importance of physical fitness.

Dr Deborah Cohen says that eating disorders are "below the level of consciousness," while others argue people simply are making bad choices of priorities. A food fight breaks out between liberals (such as Dr Kelly Brownell) who blame the food industry (a national ban on tv ads of junk food for children is as likely to happen against the wishes of the food industry's lobbyists as passing an assault-weapon ban with the blessings of the NRA) and conservatives (in collusion with the manufacturers of processed foods and the richly subsidized, industrialized farms) who emphasize self-discipline, dieting, and exercise.

But "eat less, exercise more" isn't working because stress is making people crave calories and store them. With all of its alarmist talk of terrorism, the Bush/Cheney administration overstressed a majority of Americans, causing them to shop and consume large portions of heavily promoted inappropriate foods, which made people overweight.

Provocateur Bill Maher points out that the three industries of pharmacology, oil, and corn have killed more Americans, lots more, than bin Laden (who, by the way, is fashionably thin). "Obesity is the terror within," proclaimed former (2002-6) Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who says he was muzzled by the Bush/Cheney administration from speaking out on a variety of health issues, including obesity, and then was blamed for failing to address the epidemic of obesity. At least George W. Bush hasn't had quadruple-bypass surgery as has Bill Clinton.

Type-2 diabetes is showing up in America's out-of-proportionally overweight children (when compared to previous generations), who are destined to have shorter life spans than their parents. Also poor nutrition leads to poor academic performance. Lives are out of balance, with too much fridge-to-couch existence.

Clergymen and a rabbi speak of the sins of sloth and gluttony: the body's temple must be maintained properly. In an addictive culture, food addiction (which makes one feel better in a dysfunctional family) can lead to drug addiction; hamburgers and fries are gateway drugs. "You are what you eat." But eating healthfully is expensive; people who cannot afford organic fruits and vegetables consume more calories. Just compare the number of calories in sodas and chips with juices and carrots.

Shrek has been exploited to sell kids fast-food poisoning; advertisers respond to critics by promoting cereals and other kids' favorite foods as "better for you," though not actually healthier. Yet parents can be stupid too, complaining when health advocates have tried to remove soda and junk-food vending machines from campuses. (There's something wrong with the idea of raising money in schools from selling junk food and sodas to students in order to provide educational resources as there is in taxing tobacco products to provide healthcare for children.)

As we've added inches to our collective waists, we've been burning more gasoline, which is contributing to global warming. So maybe if we all got slimmer, we'd save the planet?

I've never had a problem of being overweight, so maybe I'm not qualified to express an opinion. Nevertheless, I will. I eat just one or two meals daily without snacks; rarely will I drink a soda or go out for fast food. But when I'm hungry at the end of the day, I pile large quantities on my plate, going back for seconds and then dessert.

I vigorously workout, bicycle and walk, getting into a car only when weather, distance, or time dictate otherwise. For myself staying fit has always been common sense. I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, though I don't insist on organic produce; we grow many of our own veggies in the summer.

I believe health-insurance premiums should cost overweight and obese policyholders significantly more (similar to users of tobacco products) since being excessively heavy can be controlled (starving people never suffer from being too fat) and often being overfleshed is a precursor to many preventable diseases. Having to pay twice as much for medical insurance might act as an incentive to lose weight. Why should those of us who are trim and firm subsidize the healthcare of those who overindulge and flaunt it? So be healthy instead of obese.

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Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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