A crime to overeat and to be obese? Yes, I say

I know I do it all the time. Overeating is one of those guilty pleasures that most of us seem to succumb to, even if rarely. Today, suddenly, as is often the case, I started thinking about overeating and resulting obesity.

Maybe, it was because of the overweight and obese people I see everyday. Maybe it was because when I head to the gym after ages, I am not too happy with the new rolls I discover. Whatever the reason, I got thinking about the connection between overeating and obesity and if it amounts to a crime.

First thing's first. To account for any objections from the 'glandular weight-gain' brigade, I have to say that I am not talking about people who are overweight or obese due to a disease. But it is unfair and (yes I will say it) stupid to consider eating-related obesity a health condition or worse, a disability. Ala the South Park episode that had an obese kid on a wheelchair make fun of another kid on a wheelchair who was sans legs, I see plenty of obese people claiming disability spots on public transit and in car parks. And I feel more anger towards these people than sympathy.

For, isn't it a crime that these people have fed themselves so much that they weigh as much as a baby elephant (and in some cases, more)? Because by putting all that extra food into their mouths, aren't they snatching it away from others who are starving? Maybe this is all in my mind. But the classic American defense comes into play here too. Good ole' 'we didn't know'!

For, how can someone be accused of snatching food from another human being, if they don't even know of the latter's existence. Most Americans seem to seldom acknowledge the fact that there is a world outside of the U.S. This changes of course when a TV channel tells them that the world outside is trying to attack them. Then they raise their guns in panicked defense. But I digress.

The defense of 'I didn't know' doesn't work. It doesn't work when Bush and his army force their way into a sovereign country. And it doesn't work when a fat American continues to stuff unbelievable amounts of food into his mouth while a huge part of the world's population starves to death. If everyone who overeats in this country gave away all food that went over the prescribed human calorie intake for a day, I have an unscientific hunch that at least two starving people would eat well. This CNN story does talk about the crazy meals that some very popular American restaurants serve.

That foreign aid bill is unaffordable but the U.S. can afford to dole out social welfare and medical aid to its own human pachyderms. I guess end of the day they really believe what an immigrant once told me 'We are American. So, we are special'.