David Spates "Therefore I Am" Published April 16, 2002

$400 a month is too much
for some In-N-Out

We newspaper folk try to have a little fun from time to time. Little things like using an odd word here, an outrageous quote there can lift the spirits of a newsroom. I know, I know, we're weird bunch.

It seems the weirdness is not limited to community newspapers atop the Cumberland Plateau, however. I'm convinced that someone took great delight in arranging USA Today's April 3 front page. That issue's cover story is headlined, "Fast-food world says drive-thru is the way to go," with the story examining America's love of drive-thrus. The writer highlights a California woman who shares a drive-thru fast-food meal with her 2-year-old son every single day -- seven days a week. She spends about $400 a month at her favorite In-N-Out Burger restaurant. That's nearly $5,000 a year, if I double-checked my math correctly.

Directly below the drive-thru story, and this is the funny part, there's a separate story carrying the headline, "Obese Americans get a tax break." There's no way in the world anyone will ever convince me that those two stories appearing on the same front page is mere coincidence. I'll bet the USA Today staff is still snickering about that one. I know, I know, like I said, we newspaper types are weird.

There's even a little bar graph with the tax breaks story, showing that the percentage of Americans who are obese has steadily climbed from 15 percent in the late 1970s to 23 percent in the early 1990s to 26-27 percent in 1999.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, obesity is defined as being 30 pounds or more over a healthy weight.

I have empathy for overweight people. I do. I've put in my share of hefty years. I was obese, according to the NCHS. I've dropped about 50 pounds from my heaviest weight. I found that the secret to losing weight is that there is no secret. I got off my ever-expanding duff and exercised. I also stopped eating so much junk. It's that simple. I didn't need a federally mandated tax break to do it.

The Internal Revenue Service ruled earlier this month that all Americans deemed obese by their doctors can deduct their out-of-pocket costs for certain weight-loss programs as a medical expense. Before the IRS made its ruling, only obese Americans with high blood pressure, heart disease or other conditions relating to their weight were able to take such deductions.

Obesity advocates have hailed the move as a step forward because it considers obesity as a real medical problem. Some claim that obesity is the most serious health issue facing Americans.

I agree that obesity is serious, but the harsh reality is that most overweight people chose to be overweight. There's no point in sugar-coating the language -- fat people are fat because they don't do what it takes to lose weight. I was fat because I didn't want to do what I knew needed to be done. It was MY choice to be fat. I ate a lot of junk and I didn't exercise. Ergo, I was a lard-butt. I made choices, and those choices had consequences.

That's how life works, right?

Sure, there are some people who have medical conditions out of their control that result in obesity, but that's the exception, not the rule. Most obese people, but not all, are overweight for good reason.

While some are heralding the IRS decision, I for one think they've got it backward. It seems to me that the tax breaks should go to the people who maintain a healthy weight. Let the tax breaks be an incentive to obese Americans. The NCHS estimates 300,000 Americans die every year from obesity-related conditions. That's about 100 times as many people as were killed on Sept. 11. That's too many people. If the tax breaks aren't enough of an incentive to trim down, then maybe death avoidance could be.

I'm sure Victoria Vollaire would appreciate all the taxpayer-funded assistance she can get. She's the California mother I mentioned who spends four Benny Franklins a month at the ol' In-N-Out Burger. There's even a picture of Victoria along with USA Today's story. She's not terribly obese now, but she's "pushing maximum density," as Judd Nelson once said. A few more trips to the friendly neighborhood In-N-Out and I'd wager she'll balloon up nicely.

And what about her little 2-year-old son strapped into his car seat, fed greasy burgers and fries seven days a week? I'm sure he enjoys it, but he doesn't know any better. He's 2. Thanks a lot, Mom. If she keeps it up, she'll be able to deduct her son's medical expenses as well as her own.

All of this probably makes me sound cold and unfeeling. I'm not trying to be. I know how easy it is to shelve dieting plans. I did it for years. Rather than eat right and exercise, I bought larger pants. I didn't feel as fat when I wore loose-fitting clothes.

I'm not going to spout the tired old "If-I-can-do-it-you-can-do-it" routine, either. I make my choices in life and you make yours. If Victoria Vollaire wants to eat five grand a year in junk food, then that's what she'll do, but tax breaks for the obese sends the wrong message, and I suspect that just what the front-page designer of USA Today had in mind.

But maybe that's just me. I'm pretty weird, even for a newspaper person.

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David Spates is a Knoxville resident and Crossville Chronicle contributor whose column is published each Tuesday. He can be reached at davespates@chartertn.net.