The infrastructure of obesity and the obesity epidemic: implications for public policy

If present increases in the rate of obesity persist, by 2015 half of the population in the US could be obese. This article presents the case that the reason for the epidemic is an 'infrastructure of obesity' that fuels the phenomenon. To control this epidemic, public policy in general and health policy in particular need to shift from market oriented policies that favour individual choice to policies that regulate the food supply, to help dismantle the infrastructure of obesity. Our research shows that state regulations have made some progress in the fight against obesity.