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An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association inspired both NBC and ABC to consult their in-house physicians. Citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, the study made the distinction between obesity, which can kill a person, and being merely overweight, which is not lethal. "I do think we have somehow conveyed the idea even a modest amount of extra weight is an automatic death sentence," admitted Dr Timothy Johnson (no link) to ABC anchor Charles Gibson, "and that is simply not true…A person who is modestly overweight can still be healthy and fit if they pay attention to other issues like smoking and good nutrition and good exercise." Dr Nancy Snyderman pointed out to NBC anchor Brian Williams that, granted, the study found that being overweight, short of obesity, is not a killer but nevertheless those extra pounds can harm our quality of life. "Death should not be the end point," Snyderman insisted, in an unfortunate turn of phrase, since, of course, the end point is precisely what death is.
CBS took a sociological look at obesity instead of a medical one for its series Forced to be Fit. Bill Whitaker stood on a block in South Central Los Angeles where there was one grocery store within a mile radius--and 40 fast food restaurants. He showed us a montage of signage: KFC, el Pollo Loco, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Popeye's, Pizza Hut, Church's Chicken, Domino, Jack in the Box--and Sexy Donuts. Community activists claim that this proliferation, plus a high concentration of poverty and a lack of parks for exercise, leads to South Central's epidemic of obesity, which afflicts fully 30% of its adult population. The upshot is a proposal for so-called Health Zoning before the City Council: a new farmers' market for fruits and vegetables combined with a moratorium on permits for any further fast food in the 'hood.
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