Over the course of my Brandeis career, I've managed to amass a decent-sized gut. Match that with a complete lack of musculature, and I've started to look like a kangaroo smuggling jelly when I take my shirt off. It wasn't that long ago that I was in pretty good shape. What happened?
Of course, I'm asking myself this question as I sit on the couch in front of my TV and stuff my face with Wendy's food. There's no question that America is getting fat; we've all seen the news shows about the obesity epidemic we face, filled with jaw dropping statistics. Why are we so much fatter than the rest of the world?I studied abroad in the Netherlands last semester. Most people there are all extremely tall and stick thin. Yes, they do splurge on frites (freedom fries) covered in mayo on a fairly regular basis, and still they manage to stay in great shape. What do they do differently?

For one, they ride their bikes everywhere. Americans will drive to the end of their driveways in order to get the mail. Bikes are the preferred means of transportation for almost all Dutch people, from men in business suits to beautiful women with great postures and full figures bouncing down cobblestone streets... but I digress. The point is that the Dutch are not terrified to include exercise as a regular part of their everyday lives.

At the end of my semester in the Netherlands, we took our final exams in a building across the street from a McDonald's. Post-exam, I saw the first fat Dutch person I had seen in four months. Actually, seven of them sat hunched over their Big Macs, reminding me of the things I didn't miss about home.

But hey, if you really think about it, we fatties help run the American economy. We chow down more food than once thought conceivable and then spend our money on fad diets and exercise equipment that will one day function as coat racks. There are fitness clubs, videos and TV shows that show us how to lose weight; if all else fails, there are therapists to help us become comfortable with our negative body image.

Many economists and doctors claim that the future costs of battling obesity are going to bankrupt our medical services. My response to them is that the piggies are what really keep our economy afloat.
It's our laziness and propensity towards excess that define us as a culture. We don't walk or bike anywhere. We choose the elevator or escalator over the stairs at all times. We're getting to the point where we will never have to leave our beds, with everything in our house powered by remote control, and everything outside available through delivery.

Some people claim that obesity is genetic and that they have no control over it, which for some obese people, is partially true. But I think that for many, this is a big steamy load. Not long ago, famine, not obesity, was the issue. I definitely believe that it is harder for some people than others to lose weight, due either to genetic predisposition, such as lower metabolism, or to bad eating habits taught by parents, such as using food as a reward. But there's a formula: Eat fewer calories than you work off and you will lose weight, hands down. Everyone has some control over what he eats and how much he moves.

But even the skinniest people in America are unhealthy about it. Anorexia is the cover story of Newsweek this week, and the article explains that anorexia now affects a younger and more diverse group of people. I've even attended the funeral of a friend from middle school who died of an eating disorder.

Moderation is a word that apparently was not included in any American dictionary. Everyone from Plato to Jesus to Confucius to the Dali Lama preaches the evils of excess and the importance of harmony and moderation. But consumerism, hedonism and instant gratification have overtaken religion and philosophy, making corporate executives from McDonald's to Lane Bryant to Weight Watchers to Bowflex do a happy dance.

Now, I'm not calling anybody out without including myself in the indictment, but as a culture, Americans must realize how intensely we allow excess to dictate our actions. People can only be truly happy if they can limit their desires and understand when enough is enough. Somehow my father has managed to create this balance in his life, while I still eat too much, drink too much, procrastinate until I have to stay up for days in a row to do my work, then sleep too much afterward.

It's starting to make me wonder if our generation still has the capacity to practice moderation. For now, I'll just hope that they'll soon create a pill that I can take daily to improve my willpower.