By Selwyn Duke

The health police are at it again.  One Professor Philip James, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said obesity was such a big problem worldwide that, writes BBC News, ". . . action was needed now, even without
clear evidence of the best options." Yup, sounds like the Al Gore school of social policy to me.

I have one question for the good professor: Dr. James, how on God’s green Earth is this any business of yours? 

I mean, really, some people just have too much time on their hands.

Don’t misunderstand me, I think it’s terrific that researchers study health and alert the public to possible dangers.  I like to keep abreast of the latest health findings myself.  The problem arises when they try to legislate their passions, which, in this time of statism, appears to be everyone’s first instinct.   And that does seem to be busybody James’ intention.  The BBC quotes him as saying:

"We have to change that [the social phenomena that lead
to obesity], and it will not come unless we have a coherent government-led
strategy. The issue is: have we got the political will?"

No, the real issue is: Are we dumb enough to waste tax money
on yet another scheme that makes government more intrusive and tyrannical? I fear I know the answer.

Now, just in case people think this hits a nerve with me
because I’m heavy on the Twinkies, I can assure you that I’m a lean, mean
writing machine. But were I more in the
mold of G.K. Chesterton than George Bernard Shaw, I would expect my right to
expand my abdominal horizons to be respected. Moreover, c’mon, it’s not as if overweight folks are oblivious to their
stature. Do they really need the
government to notify them that they are now legally, officially fat?

Then, Dr. James wants better nutritional labeling, because,
presumably, most of us are too stupid to know that Big Macs aren’t health
food. Well, allow me to be of
assistance, doctor: If something is sweet, it contains sugar; if it’s salty,
its sodium content is high; and if it’s creamy, it contains fat. In a nutshell, the better it tastes, the
worse it is for you. I bet you never
heard that one before.

You can retire now, professor.

One thing that really irritates me about these proposals is
that I know they’re often driven by self-interest. Many of these scientists just want exposure,
government grants and opportunities to be published, and, if you can’t dazzle
them with brilliance, baffle them with balderdash. The majority in most fields aren’t all that
competent, I’ve found, and scientists are no exception.

Anyway, I don’t have any respect for a "professor" who uses global warming propaganda to frame his dietary call to action.  Writes the BBC:

"Obesity needs to be tackled in the same way as climate
change, a top nutritional scientist has said."

Yes, that’s exactly how it needs to be tackled.

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