Let me comment very briefly, and put forward a controversial additional explanation for the growth in obesity. I do believe that more is spent on advertising of goods than of political candidates, but I do not believe goods advertising is at a lower level than political advertising. Just the opposite in many cases!
Farm subsidies are not the main cause of the decline in the price of fat. These subsidies were generally just as high, if not higher, in the '50s and '60s as during the '80s and '90s. However, the total cost of food declined during the past couple of decades, but it did not before that.
One reasons seldom mentioned as a general factor partly behind the rise in obesity is the expectation that new drugs will greatly reduce the adverse consequences of being obese. I am not claiming that many teenagers are conscious of this consideration. However, any one who has observed the development of blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs during the past few decades can rationally believe that in twenty years or so still newer drugs that control diabetes and other diseases will be developed. Then for anyone who likes to eat sugary and fat foods, it does not seem so irrational to do so when the consequences will be much less harmful to health than they are at present.
To be sure, if the government will pay for the use of such drugs, obesity imposes costs on others. So becoming obese may not be socially "rational" or efficient, but there seems to be an important element of individual rationality, given the trend in drug development. That conflict between private and social behavior is worth investigating further, although I have seen very little discussion of it.
« Obesity--Posner's Reply to Comments | Main | Response on Parental Obligations-BECKER »
12/18/2005
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
The comments to this entry are closed.
Search
Become a Fan
Home Pages
May 2014
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Recent Posts
- Farewell
- Sabbatical Notice
- The Embargo of Cuba: Time to Go- Becker
- End the Cuban Embargo—Posner
- Should Marijuana Be Decriminalized Nationwide?—Posner
- Why Marijuana Should be Decriminalized- Becker
- The War on Drugs
- The Myth of Excess Enrollments in College-Becker
- Excess Enrollments in College? Could Be. Posner
- Has the United States, by Virtue of Its Size and Complexity, Become Ungovernable?—Posner
I want to say - thank you for this!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/04/2009 at 01:06 AM
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/04/2009 at 02:31 AM
Perfect work!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/04/2009 at 12:37 PM
Sorry. There isn?t much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversation with people you respect and love. You have to carve this time out of your life because you aren?t really living without it.
I am from Tonga and learning to read in English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Mla style citation nechak, paula online school is for kids."
Thanks for the help :-(, Online career schools.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/07/2009 at 08:45 AM
Great site. Good info.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/09/2009 at 06:46 AM
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/09/2009 at 09:22 AM
Hi everyone. I like to play blackjack. I'm not addicted to gambling, I'm addicted to sitting in a semi-circle.
I am from Marino and bad know English, give true I wrote the following sentence: "Seedaneed just finished there first back to school drive for foster kids of the local area."
Thanks for the help :p, Hartford financial services.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/10/2009 at 03:29 AM
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/12/2009 at 05:32 AM
Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/15/2009 at 03:01 AM
It is the coolest site, keep so!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/16/2009 at 06:59 PM
Great. Now i can say thank you!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/17/2009 at 12:58 AM
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/17/2009 at 01:40 PM
Beautiful site!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/18/2009 at 03:07 PM
ÿ¥ÿßÿ™ ÿØŸÑÿπ
شات الود
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/18/2009 at 08:27 PM
شات الشلة
دردشة تعب قلبي
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/18/2009 at 08:28 PM
شات حبي
شات الحب
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/18/2009 at 08:30 PM
Incredible site!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/18/2009 at 09:04 PM
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/18/2009 at 11:40 PM
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/20/2009 at 02:31 AM
Beautiful site!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/20/2009 at 04:31 PM
Incredible site!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/20/2009 at 07:13 PM
If you have to do it, you might as well do it right.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/21/2009 at 03:02 AM
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/22/2009 at 04:12 AM
Great site. Good info.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/22/2009 at 07:14 AM
I want to say - thank you for this!
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/22/2009 at 07:24 PM