Let me set the record straight: It is.
The ambiguity comes largely from a study released last year by the Center for Disease Control, and endorsed by the Bush administration, that showed over 300,000 deaths each year can be attributed to obesity, nearly surpassing smoking as the primary cause of preventable disease. Since then, that figure has been reduced to 112,000, and now there are those questioning whether obesity is actually a health hazard.
The issue has certainly gained momentum on the blogosphere. SoCal Lawyer, replacement-blogger at BoiFromTroy while the Boi is out of town, directs readers to TheAgitator.com, who suggests Dr. Julie Gerberding isn't fit to lead the CDC:
[T]he director of the United States Center for Disease Control co-authored a flawed study, which led to massive anti-obesity hysteria, including public policy proposals that would have had a significant impact on how we produce, buy, and consume food. Though many of her colleagues knew her methodology was flawed, the study was published anyway, due either to bureaucratic snafus, fear from her colleagues of backlash, or that she simply ignored them (none of which is really acceptable from the agency in charge of protecting us from genuine threats to the public health).
While her decisions regarding this study were at best poor, I respect Dr. Gerberding for tackling obesity and taking it to a new level of public discussion. Five years ago, most American's would probably have considered obesity an issue of image, along the likes of baldness. Today, those outside of the medical community realize that obesity has significant health consequences.
It's a shame that this message has now been clouded by a tragically flawed study; the CDC now has the obligation to work harder than ever to repair it's image and convince Americans of the merits of a healthier weight.
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