Madam, - Your Editorial of September 2nd propagates the notion that the alleged obesity epidemic can be blamed on food manufacturers. The thesis seems to be that food, somewhat like cigarettes, is prepared in such a way that it contains dangerous and addictive ingredients and unwitting consumers are forced to eat it, thereby damaging their health. The objective seems to be to blame the food companies in the same way that the tobacco companies were (quite rightly) blamed.
This position is not supportable by rational argument. The food we eat is not poisonous. By and large, there is no such thing as unhealthy food, only unhealthy portions. Someone who eats nothing but lettuce will have as many health problems as someone who eats nothing but hamburgers - probably more, actually. In order to survive and maintain health, the human body requires all of the ingredients contained in our food, and that includes fat, carbohydrates and salt as well as protein, minerals and vitamins. The notion that fatty foods or sugary foods are inherently unhealthy, or just plain bad, is simply nonsense.
The key is how much we eat. Practically all of the food on our supermarket shelves and all of the food in our restaurants is perfectly healthy if eaten correctly, i.e. in the right quantities and proportions.
This is where the focus must shift to individual responsibility. Only the individual can ensure that his or her diet is sensible, balanced and healthy and compatible with his or her daily exercise regime. Food companies cannot possibly do that, nor can restaurant owners, nor can the Government. In this regard, your assertion that the food companies' defence is a "cop-out" is most unfortunate.
Diverting responsibility away from the individual and on to the food companies is the real cop-out. It allows people who might have health problems due to diet to simply blame someone else and do nothing. As long as that persists, nothing the food companies can do, nothing the Government can do, will be of any avail.
I have to confess I am pretty sceptical anyway of media stories of widespread health problems and very confused by media reports. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we are bombarded with scare stories of how we all have lousy diets, and as a consequence are overweight and unhealthy. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, we are terrified by reports that we are and living so long that a pensions crisis is resulting. Which is it to be? - Yours, etc,
Dr NORMAN STEWART, Malahide, Co Dublin.