Auto-Paternalism

It’s come to my attention that many people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. I didn’t do that in 2010, but I did weigh almost 250 pounds on March 1, 2010 and this morning I weighed 180 pounds which goes to show that it’s possible to lose weight. So I thought this might be an opportune day to share some advice.

As of late, I think my credentials on the subject of "thinking Megan McArdle is wrong about things" are pretty ironclad.

Major airlines could consider charging a "fat tax" — an extra fee for overweight passengers who require extra fuel to ferry around the world — but will likely never put the policy into practice.

Wall Street is an easy place to pick up the habit of overeating. Think about it: It's a place that embraces taking clients out to lavish dinners, working long days and sometimes splurging on meals to make up for those miserable hours. And then there's the time honored tradition of the Wall Street eating contest.

According to a new NBER working paper, "among teenagers who smoke frequently, 46% of girls and 30% of boys are smoking in part to control their weight. This practice is significantly more common among youths who describe themselves as too fat than those who describe themselves as about the right weight."

In my chat today, a reader asked me to respond to Megan McArdle's lengthy case against national health insurance. The problem is that, well, there's not a lot to respond to. In 1,600 words, she doesn't muster a single link to a study or argument, nor a single number that she didn't make up (what numbers do exist come in the form of thought experiments and assumptions). Megan's argument against national health insurance boils down to a visceral hatred of the government. Which is fine.