Hastings Center Scholar Calls for Shaming the Obese to Address Epidemic

In a paper titled “Obesity: Chasing an Elusive Epidemic,” Hastings Center Scholar and President Emeritus Daniel Callahan calls for a combination of measures to stop what he calls “the most difficult and elusive public health problem this country has ever encountered.” Contending that current initiatives have failed to stem the tide, Callahan includes “social pressure on the overweight” as a promising tactic. He apparently attributes his success in quitting smoking to “being shamed and beat upon socially” and thus believes that stigmatization will help people “strongly want to avoid being overweight.”

The paper also recommends taxes on sugared drinks and unhealthy
processed foods, youth marketing bans, calorie postings in restaurants, and
government subsidies for healthy foods to “make a significant difference” on
the “supply side.” Callahan’s recommendation to the business community is
to create wellness programs for employees while the second prong of his
approach targets preventative strategies aimed at children, calling this “the
real front line.” He states that “children can be cajoled into good eating and
exercise habits, or forced into them if necessary.”

While he believes that most people who are already obese will not likely be helped by any measures, including shaming, Callahan wants to induce overweight people to ask themselves uncomfortable questions, including (i) “If you are overweight or obese, are you pleased with the way you look?”; and (ii) “Fair or not, do you know that many people look down upon those excessively overweight or obese, often in fact discriminating against them and making fun of them or calling them lazy and lacking in self-control?” According to Callahan, this will empower individuals, especially the large number “who are unaware that they are overweight. They need, to use an old phrase, a shock of recognition.”