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Is long-term weight loss out of reach for most people?
We continue to ignore the most robust finding of dieting research
If you’re selling a lineup of tired products, social media outrage might be the best way to get noticed. Or so hoped Gillette — the well-known maker of disposable shaving products and newly woke company — when it launched its latest promotional tweet.
The ad that sparked the Twitter firestorm featured an obese model celebrating on a beach. A small mob of outraged commenters argued that the picture promoted an unhealthy lifestyle — and they weren’t referring to seaside swimming. Rather, they felt — strongly and instinctively — that simply seeing a severely obese person would encourage all the bad habits that fat people are presumed to have, from unrestrained eating to prolonged stays on the sofa.
This argument rests on tissue-thin ground. After all, many billions of dollars have been spent over several decades glamorizing the thinnest possible models, even as the average weight of people in the United States has shot steadily upward. At the moment, two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and one third of us are obese. And…
