We've covered extensively the law and policy fight against obesity and noted that there's been some (barely) measurable progress recently. That's the theme of this article from The Economist. Here's an excerpt:
The overweight American, slurping a bucket of soda in his car, is an international stereotype. Thankfully, fewer Americans fit the mould. Obesity rates among adults were flat from 2011 to 2012 in every state but Arkansas. And obesity rates among poor young children declined in 18 states from 2008 to 2011. This month brought new data that may help explain why. On January 8th 16 top food companies announced that they had fulfilled their promise to sell 1 trillion fewer calories in 2012 than they had in 2007. Indeed the companies surpassed their goal, reducing the number of calories by 6.4 trillion, according to an independent review funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a respected health philanthropy. And on January 16th America’s agriculture department published a report showing that Americans are eating slightly more healthily. In 2010 American adults ate an average of 78 fewer calories each day than they had in 2005.
