Should Anti-Obesity Campaigns Learn from McDonald's?

Watching McDonald's new "Big Mac World Chant" ad campaign-announced within a week of The Atlantic's latest cover story, "Fat Nation: It's Worse Than You Think"-reminded me of that famous October 2000 debate between Al Gore and George W. Bush.

Gore, you'll remember, came across as informed, articulate, capable, if a little arrogant. Bush, in contrast, showed up as the likeable one: easy-going, fun, the guy you'd rather talk to at a party.

In the end (with a little help from the U.S. Supreme Court), fun trumped serious. It's a common occurrence, even without outside intervention-and quite possibly a good thing to keep in mind as the contest heats up over what American children will eat.

During the past several months, a growing number of informed, articulate, dedicated voices have called for anti-obesity measures while food companies, some with budgets the size of small countries, continue to relentlessly, joyously, almost irresistibly promote the kinds of foods that contribute to obesity.

Just try to watch the "Big Mac World Chant" and not want to join in. I've tried and failed every time. I like the singing, I like the movement, I like the spirit. I'd like to be with the people in the ad at a party-the great big global party they seem to be part of-and to that extent, like 65 million other people in 117 countries every day, I too am hooked by McDonald's. It's fun.

What's more, no one in this happy, beautiful world is obese, or even slightly overweight. It could make one wonder: What are Michelle Obama, Jamie Oliver, Andrew Weil, the CDC, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, retired military officials, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Time, and CNN, to name some who have addressed this issue recently, talking about?

So here are the facts: During the past 30 years, the rate of obesity among adults has doubled, and the rate of obesity in children has tripled. Some 34 percent of adults and 17 percent of children are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And that rate is projected to continue to rise during the coming decade among children and African American young adults, according to a new report from the University of Chicago School of Medicine in the journal, Medical Decision Making.

Obesity puts people at increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer, not to mention other psychological and emotional issues. And treating those conditions gets costly-not only to patients but the economy as a whole.

"Our health care system is already on the verge of total collapse," Andrew Weil, author and physician best known for pioneering integrative medicine, said at a conference last month on personal and environmental health. And he predicted that two huge demographic changes are going to put even more pressure on the system: One is the aging of Baby Boomers, and the other is the aging of obese children.