Can We Shame Our Way to Thin?
It hasn't worked so far. So why do people keep suggestng it?
Professor Dennis Callahan believes that society has been shockingly negligent in its treatment of fat people. Apparently, none of us have bothered to express our disdain and disgust for the overweight, leaving them under either under the misimpression that they are thin, or worse, the misimpression that their extra body fat is anything other than repulsive and shameful.
Before he wrote this, Professor Callahan probably should have rounded out his research by looking at a magazine, a newspaper, or perhaps the television. He could perhaps start with the Daily Mail, where his thesis is falsified by the very pictures accompanying a description of his argument.
If there is a "solution" to the "obesity crisis", I'm betting it will probably be something we haven't tried, not something that we've been blaring from every media outlet for the last fifty years.
About the Author
Megan McArdle
Megan McArdle is a special correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast covering business, economics, and public policy. A former senior editor at The Atlantic and writer for The Economist, Megan has a diverse work history including three small startups and a disaster recovery firm at Ground Zero.
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