Mind and Obesity

The prestigious Journal, Lancet, reports a study that predicts that in less than two decades, 260 million Americans will suffer from obesity, a condition associated with a host of diseases and disorders.  It’s easy to understand that with advertising and food technologies, the temptation to indulge the comfort that food and drink give, makes it easy to tumble into obesity.

But surely, once awake to the mortal dangers that lie hidden in that hamburger and sugary drink, the solution to the problem should be clear: be picky and eat and drink less!  But people find that hard, so out comes Big Pharma to provide drugs in the battle against obesity.     But the drug approach has obviously failed, given the giant obesity crisis the Lancet has warned us about. 

I’m skeptical about the supposed genetics of the problem. The real culprit are bad habits and lack of self-awareness. Our systems of education neglect to address the freedom of will as a central fact of a flourishing human existence.  We are educated to be fans and consumers, not life explorers with independent minds.  

 Once asked to speak about diet, I came up with this advice.  Decide on the weight you ideally prefer.  Then follow this instruction. Whenever you eat and drink, say, the normal three times a day, each time eat and drink hardy but consume only one half of what you would normally consume.  

There is nothing painful, no self-deprivation—just a healthy reduction of your intake. Continue halving your diet until you reach the weight you chose to be. Then go back to eating and drinking but be mindful and sustain your ideal weight.

There’s a problem with this plan.  Swamped as we are in a materialist ethos, there is no clear sense of the freedom of our will. Nobody reminds you that you’re a free agent and master of your life.  We need to sharpen the consciousness of our freedom—and practice using it.  

The answer to the obesity crisis is our own minds—the power we possess to say yes or no—the power to open our mouth or shut it. Use and prove your free will is real. It's a key choice—live your life or slip into slavery.