Economic Woes Make Us Fat?

I thought this article on Newsweek was interesting...according to the article there has been a jump in obesity statistics since the economy went into the toilet.

There's speculation that the economic problems in the US have contributed to a number of factors that are pushing borderline obese people into the danger zone; stress over possibly losing a job, stress from losing a job, prices rising out of the affordability range on healthier foods, people turning to comfort foods more often instead of healthier food choices among others.

The article briefly mentions some of the government attempts by government to encourage healthier alternatives. To be honest, I don't know how much of a help what they're offering would be. From what I can tell we are an obese society because, in large part, it's socially acceptable to overeat and indulge ourselves. We take cues from others around us and it is tacitly accepted that while being fat is bad and it's socially okay to ridicule fat people it's also not unusual to see people snarfing down two burgers at a fast food joint and restaurants are almost punished if they don't have huge portions for their patrons...diners feel cheated if they don't. So huge portions creep into private lives and become the new standard in our food intake.

So that would imply that becoming fat is one of the side effects of having a "free" economy. We want it, we pay for it, we think we're entitled to it, and in an insidious way this implies that we are somehow subconsciously wired to overindulge once we're given the opportunity and indulgence is given a social nod by those around us.

But maybe that's just my view. Feel free to comment on it...