And if that risky behavior is widespread enough that it has begun showing that it does or has potential to have a negative affect on those who didn't choose to make the harmful decision, then we tend to have campaigns and sometimes laws written to limit that behavior. It's why we have rules on the road, numerous rules and campaigns against drunk driving to limit the harm to those that don't drink and drive, campaigns and limitations to smoking to protect the health of non-smokers, etc.[footnote]Yes, I understand part of the motivation is to protect those making the bad decision, but that's hardly the only reason.[/footnote] If someone could show that skateboarding and mountain biking had incredibly negative affects on these same factors while not having any real positive benefit, then we'd probably have campaigns to limit those as well.senordesol said:Well, shit. Using that logic; any risky behavior whatsoever is a threat to the human species if expansive enough.MysticSlayer said:Well, there are the economic [http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-consequences/economic/] and environmental [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-shift-obesity-packs-serious-climate-consequences/] problems associated with obesity, and those aren't limited just to being personal affects. In the long run, they have the potential to affect the entire human population, including those who chose to live healthier. Sure, one person being overweight isn't going to contribute significantly enough, but just like people who waste electricity and water add up to have negative effects on carbon emissions, the millions of overweight and obese people begin to add up. It also doesn't help when you consider that people in wealthy nations are eating themselves to death while people in poorer nations are starving. Granted, I doubt most people caring about obesity really know about these issues. They are probably just very concerned for people's health or they are just judgmental jerks that enjoy sticking their noses into other people's business.senordesol said:The hell are people so concerned about my waistline for?
This isn't some massively abstract idea where someone realized they didn't like obesity and then decided to claim it had negative effects on the economy and environment without evidence. It is based on actual numbers and evidence with the calls for ethical action following that evidence. Trying to turn it into some abstract "we can apply this to things that don't have this evidence" is more a distraction than actually addressing the problem.
Edit: Added some stuff for clarity