Letters

"Cracking the fat riddle" provided much biological reasoning for American obesity but totally ignored the root cause of the problem: Americans are fat because they are fixated on indulging their every desire [Health, Sept. 2]. Laziness is practically a virtue in our society. It's not the food pyramid, not the wrong diet, not even the fast-food joints that are at fault. The blame lies with the individual who refuses to deny himself, educate himself and get off his rear.
ANDRE GALLIATH
Valencia, Calif.

What everyone seems to consistently overlook is that no two humans metabolize nutrients in the same way. To believe that one diet can cover everyone's needs is ludicrous. Some will thrive on a low-fat diet like the one devised by Dr. Dean Ornish, while others will do well on Dr. Robert Atkins' low-carbohydrate diet. My conclusion? Moderation. Most Americans just eat too much. Period.
LAUREN JONES
New York City

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The problem with dieting is dieting itself. A diet is not something you go on every few months to lose a couple of pounds. It is something you should follow year round. How can a person expect to go on a diet, lose 10 lbs., then go back to eating ice cream and not expect to regain the weight? The key to losing weight and keeping it off is eating healthfully all the time and throwing away the entire concept of dieting.
JAN H. NIELSEN
Edmonton, Alta.

Why do researchers insist on investigating obesity as if it were a subject for The X-Files? Too much emphasis is placed on obesity as a disease, with researchers debating the role played by hormones, neuronal activity and genetics. Instead of pinning our hopes on finding the chemical factor causing obesity, we should be looking at how Americans' eating habits have changed in the past 50 years. Today we have more opportunities to eat, more food available and larger portions. But the big question is, Why do we feel the need to engage in such conspicuous consumption? Americans need to take responsibility for their appetites and recognize that less is more.
MEREDITH LUCE
Founder, Diet Directives Weight Loss Program
Orlando, Fla.

What really makes americans fat? Your story said it all in this sentence: "We are fat because we consume too many calories and expend too few." All other explanations genes, hormones, carbs and fats strike me as pale excuses. Want to lose weight? Get off the couch, get off the fad diet, get smart about what you eat, and get moving.
TIM HEFFERNAN
Somerville, Mass.

Americans don't know how to eat in moderation. After having a baby almost two years ago, I went on Weight Watchers and lost all my pregnancy weight and more. I have now mastered the Zone diet; it easily fits into my routine. Of course I have to make sacrifices to maintain my size 4, but I would rather pass up a trip to Baskin-Robbins than inject myself with hormones.
KELLY VALENCIA
Sparta, Wis.

The American food industry bears a large part of the responsibility for this national health problem. It is very poor at producing wholesome food products. Why must processed foods be loaded with all kinds of fat and unnecessary junk? Americans have to eat smaller, well-balanced portions of wholesome food. Our health should be a priority if we want the nation to remain strong.
JALE MATA
New York City

An Elusive Link

The desperate attempts by the hawks in the Bush Administration to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda only highlight the fact that an invasion of Iraq would have nothing to do with the war on terrorism [World, Sept. 2]. The hawks have been calling for the invasion of Iraq ever since the Gulf War; the difference now is that they are cynically exploiting the tragedies of Sept. 11. An invasion would only increase the threat of terrorism by inflaming hatred of the U.S. and diverting attention from al-Qaeda.
BRIAN CLUGGISH
San Diego

The emotional rhetoric coming from the Bush Administration on the necessity of removing Saddam from power includes very little clear and logical reasoning. A cynical mind might be tempted to think that Bush Jr. just wants to finish what Bush Sr. left undone. However, the world has moved on, and tidying up after Daddy is not a strong enough reason to incite a war.
TREV GREGORY
Terschuur, the Netherlands

The President of the U.S. has no right to try to remove Saddam, even if he is a despot. Some of us have to work with people from all over the world. I have lived as a foreigner in Germany for nearly 30 years. The world is larger than Texas and much larger than the U.S. Normal citizens of this world can get on well together, as my colleagues and I do at work, where there are no religious excesses or pseudopolitical strains. We are all equal.
GORDON H.C. DOWE
Gottingen, Germany

Stone-Age Sentencing

So the Islamic law against adultery demands that a Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, must be stoned to death because she made love to a man she cared about and bore his child [World, Sept. 2]. It seems ever more clear that the human family will never make the journey to wisdom while chained to the dogma of zealots. If the good, the tolerant, the compassionate and the god-free do not speak up soon, evil is going to win. But before it does, maybe somewhere there is someone who can speak loud enough to save the life of one baby's mother.
TIM AKEY
St. Louis, Mo.