New Book Blasts Pharmaceutical and Weight-Loss Industries for Hyping Overblown Obesity Fears
Consumer Group Claims “Obesity Epidemic” Created In Hunt For Profits
Washington, DC – Americans have grown accustomed to the sheer bulk of news reports, government warnings, and scientific studies alerting them to the hazard of their expanding waistlines. But a new book released today by the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom questions those studies and highlights the government’s reliance on pharmaceutical and weight-loss industry input to lower the bar for being “overweight.”
The Center’s new report, An Epidemic of Obesity Myths, reveals that much of what the public has been told concerning obesity comes from financially conflicted researchers who have taken money from the weight-loss industry. These conflicted researchers have been instrumental in offering many of the false claims and much of the hype associated with obesity today.
An Epidemic of Obesity Myths demonstrates that even the measure used by the federal government to establish overweight and obesity—the Body Mass Index (BMI), a simple measure of height and weight—has been heavily influenced by weight-loss industry-funded researchers. In 1998, a panel of researchers, many of whom had received money from the weight-loss industry (including the panel’s chair), lowered the standard for “overweight,” reclassifying 35 million Americans as overweight—overnight. According to the BMI, President Bush, Will Smith, and Brad Pitt are all overweight, while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, quarterback Donovan McNabb, and Tom Cruise all register as obese.
An Epidemic of Obesity Myths exposes the covert effort by the $46 billion weight-loss industry to quietly nurture overblown rhetoric in an effort to panic the public about carrying a few extra pounds. Pharmaceutical and weight-loss companies have invested millions of dollars in institutes, researchers, and studies—all squarely aimed at hyping the supposed ills of being overweight.
Citing a wide array of peer-reviewed health, exercise, and nutrition research, the Center’s report also debunks many of the statistics used to hype the problem of obesity, including these common misconceptions:
• Overweight and Obesity Kill 400,000 Americans Annually
• Obesity Will Shorten Life Expectancy
• 65 Percent of Americans Are Overweight or Obese
• Obesity Costs Americans $117 Billion Annually
• Obesity Has Made Diabetes an Epidemic
• Soda Causes Childhood Obesity
To obtain a copy of An Epidemic of Obesity Myths, visit www.ObesityMyths.com or call Andrew Porter at (202) 463-7112.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.
For media comment, contact our media department at 202-463-7112 ext. 115
