Two views on obesity

Today in the news I read two new sets of findings on obesity. They are a revealing study in the contrast in attitudes towards the obesity epidemic. From the science pages, we get the typical breathless gee-whiz coverage of the discovery of a miracle fat that promised to make the arduous work of burning off excess pounds a thing of the past. While these types are busy cooking up the next phen-phen, in Vancouver they've found something that to me seems a vastly more useful type of knowledge: living close to a grocer makes you thinner.

My complaint is this. Whatever wonder drug the medical-scientific findings may yield will do nothing to address the underlying spatial reality of the Vancouver findings. I would argue it might even help perpetuate the underlying pattern. And why not? A morbidly obese person kept that way by an urban environment designed to trap them in their automobile is the ideal pharmaceutical consumer of such a drug.

At the level of policy, I think if we want to fight obesity in this country we ought to prioritize walkable urban spaces over drug research. To those struggling with weight yourselves, take the message of the Vancouver findings to heart next time you pick up the car keys instead of walk or bike, and if you really want to get down to nuts and bolts, next time you are picking a place to live.