Jon Stewart on Obesity and Fast Food (and Commercials to Make His Point)

So, I'm watching Jon Stewart's "Daily Show"--the 13 July episode--and he has a segment on the alarming obesity rates in the U.S. now.  This mentions two new studies that show obesity at epidemic levels all across the U.S.  One of these has to be, I think, F as in Fat, a report just released by Trust for America's Health, which is on my radar screen because I've just written a grant proposal for a group trying to combat obesity-related diabetes through nutrition education.  And F as in Fat notes the imperative need for nutrition education as the U.S. copes with the rise in obesity.

Jon Stewart (rightly) relates the obesity epidemic to our growing addiction to fast food.  And as soon as this segment has finished, the program switches to commercials, and in rapid succession, I watch a commercial for Pizza Hut ("Extra cheese!" "Everything on it!") followed by one for beer ("Wouldn't a cold one taste good with that salty pizza?") followed by one for--you guessed it: dessert--Reese's peanut-butter cups.

Scolded one minute by political commentators for our love of salty, fatty, calorie-laden fast food, bombarded the next minute by images of pizza laden with cheese and fatty, salty meat, beer, and candy: America, gotta love it.