LogFAQs > #922120672

Calories in and out might explain it, but it's not an issue that's unique to the USA. World wide obesity rates have tripled since the 1970s, which seems to be due to the wide availability of food from the advertising and manufacturing food revolution of the late 20th cent. It's hard to fight our genetic desire to stuff ourselves with wide availability of food, though there appears to be a solution through government regulation. I think the Chilean government introduced black labels on foods it deems unhealthy, which caused a noticeable decrease in consumption of such goods. Telling people to be active and eat healthy might help like Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, but I think it pales in comparison to what a government can do. Based on what I know about the US government and its people though regulation doesn't seem likely.