Obesity

Guest: Deborah Rhode, PhD, Professor of Law and Director of the Center of Legal Profession at Stanford Law School  There’s an obesity problem in America. The CDC and US Surgeon General call it an epidemic. But government attempts to tackle the problem have faltered: New York’s attempt to ban super-sized sodas was overturned in the courts. Fast food companies have found ways around community restrictions on kid’s meals. Many jurisdictions have resisted or rolled-back proposals to charge a soda tax or regulate where junk food can be advertised. In many cases, anti-obesity policies come smack into conflict with our deeply-held American freedom to choose our own destinies – even if that means becoming obese.