Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod, “It’s Not a Small World After All: Regulating Obesity Globally,” Mississippi Law Journal, 2010

Law Professor Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod discusses a number of ways that governments in the United States and around the world are attempting to address the growing incidence of obesity among their populations. This article provides information about municipal trans fat bans and menu-labeling ordinances, China’s restrictions on the morbidly obese adopting children, Spain’s voluntary food advertising regulations, and Japan’s workplace penalties for employers whose workers’ waist measurements do not shrink to accepted levels. The author distinguishes smoking cigarettes from overeating by referring to the former as an addiction and the latter as personal choice. She suggests that governments can and should regulate personal choice “to protect the health and welfare of its citizens.” While acknowledging that no “magic bullet” has yet been found to prevent overweight and obesity and that measures already in place are too new to assess their effectiveness, the author concludes, “whatever can fairly be done should be done to lessen this health crisis.”