Tom Farley and Deborah Cohen

According to Tom Farley and Deborah Cohen in the following viewpoint, Americans are fatter today than ever before. Obesity, the authors note, is associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, among other health problems. For more than fifty years, health experts have admonished Americans to eat less and exercise more, but, in the authors’ opinion, these efforts have failed. To reduce the problem of obesity, Farley and Cohen contend, Americans must decrease the availability of junk food and make inexpensive fruits and vegetables easily accessible. Moreover, public policy leaders must work to increase the number of sidewalks and bike paths to encourage people to walk or cycle rather than drive. Farley is a professor at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Medicine, and Cohen...