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INTRODUCTION
We do not know how to prevent obesity at the population level, there is no indication we will be able to do so in the future,1 and our anti-obesity efforts are extremely risky.2 Yet America has declared war on obesity.3 Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson recently announced, "[W]e have to alert every American to just how serious the problem is. . . . All of these [statistics about the high costs of obesity] point up to [sic] the fact that we have to do something about it."4 The media, including news giants Newsweek, CNN, and the Washington Post, run regular lead stories on America's obesity problem.5 The national obsession with obesity has attracted the attention of policymakers, who increasingly declare obesity one of the leading public health threats in America.6 Although a wide array of policies designed to address the obesity epidemic has been discussed and implemented,7 the justification for these programs-that reducing the prevalence of obesity is important and necessary for public health-is presumed. Few have questioned whether public health efforts aimed at trimming body fat cause more good than harm.8 Before implementing costly anti-obesity policies, regulators and legislators should ask whether fighting obesity is worth the risks that the battle will create. In addition, policymakers should ask whether they have the knowledge and ability to reduce obesity, and if so, whether doing so would improve the nation's health.
This Note examines these questions and concludes that anti-obesity policies should not be among the primary methods of addressing America's health because of their risks and ineffectiveness. Public health officials and policymakers should redirect their focus to a health threat that is more significant and that can be addressed with less risk: poor physical fitness. Part I of this Note sets forth the factors that should be used in evaluating risks and developing public health policies. This risk analysis should emphasize scientific evidence over public perception of risk in order to optimize the use of limited resources. Part II evaluates the risks of obesity and assesses the risks and effectiveness of policies designed to make Americans slimmer. The analysis reveals that fighting obesity is not sound public health policy for three reasons. First, obesity is not as severe a medical risk...