According to the L.A. Times, two new studies from the CDC suggest the obesity "epidemic" is leveling off; that is, the current 68% of American adults who are overweight and the 34% percent who are obese are not "infecting" any more people.  Meanwhile, America is still the world's fattest country, and boys from ages 6 to 19 have gotten considerably fatter over the last decade.  While the study directors admit that the perceived peak is not so much cause for celebration as cause for cautious optimism, the proposed solutions and policy measures miss the mark entirely.  According to Jeannine Stein at the L.A. Times: 

...it's not time to reach for the cookie jar yet. Though abundant messages about eating smaller portions and getting regular exercise may finally be registering, health experts say there's more to be done before the fattening trend is not merely halted but reversed -- more policy changes, community programs and support groups.

Policy changes?  Community programs?  Support groups?  Epidemic?  CDC?  It almost sounds like they're talking about a disease, like cancer, or AIDS.  According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a disease is:

a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment

Okay, so I guess obesity technically qualifies as a disease under the "nutritional imbalance" clause, the diagnostic equivalent of regulating interstate commerce, but obesity is in almost all cases chronically self-inflicted.  And this is almost certainly related to culture.  In Japan, the country with the world's lowest rate of obesity (for reasons not genetic), an inability to control one's weight is seen as indicative of a lack of self-control, disregard for others, and a tendency to neglect those things that are important, one's health being the most important thing one has.  Accordingly, it is more difficult for obese or overweight people to find jobs or fit in socially.  A new law actually requires many companies to fine workers for being overweight.  

I'm not suggesting America go back to tormenting the fat kid, which was generally the norm when I was in school (do the fat kids extort "cake money" from the norms now?), but conflating a misunderstanding or disregard for basic nutrition with the Ebola virus is not doing much for us either.  

Widespread obesity poses significant long-term threats to American society: obesity considerably increases the risks for other, much more devastating diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and bone and joint problems, and, even if public healthcare does not come to pass, this will be a burden shared by all.  America has a serious shortage of medical care already, insurance and pharmaceutical costs are outrageously high, and these problems will only get worse if morbid obesity remains an acceptable norm.  (Although we may have solved the social security crisis.)  

The solution is simple: stop thinking of obesity as a disease.  The word "disease" connotes an outside cause, that is, the victim cannot help his condition.  We need to start thinking of obesity as a series of poor choices, albeit in many cases choices made out of semi-ignorance (Does anyone honestly not know that eating a lot of cake makes you fat?).  Since childhood obesity is much more easily reversible than adult obesity, we need to implement a comprehensive nutrition program at public schools, and even consider it child abuse in extreme cases where parents neglect their children's nutrition.  

Nutrition should be common sense, but, as anyone who watches Mad Men knows, American advertising is great at manipulating people.  Things like "low fat" brownies and "health smart" ice cream are still brownies and ice cream.  Fad diets like Atkins basically shock your metabolism into losing weight quickly and dangerously and cause more long-term harm than good.  And, as Joe mentioned in a previous post, large portions at restaurants make economic sense, so they're something that we're going to have to learn to adjust to.

A healthy diet is about maintaining proper balance between nutrition (vitamins and minerals) and energy (calories), which is what the phrase "balanced diet" means.  Foods that are high in nutrition and low in energy, such as vegetables, should be the basis of any diet.  You are not weak if you like salad.  And being physically fit is manly.  Foods that are high in energy and low in nutrition, such as chocolate chip cookies (flour, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, butter, chocolate) should be minimized or offset with exercise. 

It's that simple, yet, apparently 68% of American adults don't get it, and 34% really don't get it.  Admittedly, it's confusing when the portion sizes at restaurants are two or three times recommended daily allowances and the media keeps comparing being overweight to having cancer, but, seriously, have some self-control: only you are in charge of what goes into your body.

Update (4/21) - I suggest learning from the world's healthiest people.