Of nannies and nudges: the current state of U.S. obesity policymaking

In the sprawling American political debates over obesity, which date back a decade and a half, 'nanny state' has been a rhetorical cudgel used to oppose those seeking even modest state action to address rising obesity rates. This essay explores obesity policy through the prism of state involvement, focusing on four possible types of response to what virtually all those involved-physicians and nutritional scientists, public-health advocacy groups, even food industry executives-agree is a serious threat to individual and collective health.