I’ve blogged about this before, but I thought I should link to Radley Balko on the obesity issue again. This time he responds to a post by Mark Kleiman with some “Simple Truths” about obesity (many of which are neither simple nor true). [To be fair: it was Balko, not Kleiman, who called them “Simple”.]

Radley has been doing a great job debunking many nanny-state policy prescriptions in general, and obesity-related ones in particular.

Here’s his concluding paragraph:

Kleiman also neglects the most important point in this debate: What we eat is just about the most intimate, private decision we make. If that becomes cause for government meddling, it’s difficult to conceive of what’s left that wouldn’t be. I’d also guess that most people know by now that a greasy cheeseburger or gooey donut is bad for them. Yet they still eat them. Perhaps they’ve concluded that the enjoyment they get from good-tasting food is worth the added risk to their health, or a few extra months in the nursing home. I guess the fundamental question, then, is does a free society let people make that decision on their own, or does it implement tax, regulatory, and other punitive measures aimed at making that decision for them?