Robert Kennedy Junior does not recognize that obesity -- and obesity's cheek-by-jowl relationship with diabetes -- are (often) genetically predicated diseases, and therefore not susceptible to willpower and lifestyle change.
I have a close relative who -- for much of his life -- has been obese, but, notably, this same relative has NO PROBLEM stopping eating altogether.
In the course of his life, he has lost over a ton.
My obese relative has lost over a ton... by just stopping to eat.
His obesity is not attributable to a lack of willpower.
The problem is ADDICTION TO FOOD.
My relative can decide to forgo eating altogether, and can simply stop eating for months at a stretch. (He stays alive by ingesting electrolytes, vitamins and protein supplements.)
Once my relative stops eating, he feels no compulsion to resume.
But once he resumes eating, his addiction to food obliges him to "eat everything in sight." (These are his exact words.)
So, it is simply ridiculous -- beyond ridiculous -- to assert (as Kennedy does) that lifestyle changes alone, driven by willpower and coupled with the ready availability of "three good meals a day," will turn the tide on obesity-and-diabetes, the "evil twins" which together comprise America's foremost health crisis.
Kennedy is a brilliant advocate for environmental integrity.
His criticism of unregulated Capitalism may be the most powerful, cogent critique by any American celebrity.
Ever.
However, Kennedy is not a scientist, and science (fully grasped and capable of being advanced by meticulous application of The Scientific Method) requires many years of training just to become a competent scientist, and many more years to become an expert scientist. (See Neil DeGrasse Tyson's video clip in the first Comment box below.)
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