Truism Obesity reached epidemic proportions by the end of the twentieth century, with as many as thirty percent of adults and sixteen percent of children living in the United States being overweight ("Overweight and Obesity"). Being overweight is not just a matter of personal appearance. Rather, a range of health problems from heart disease to diabetes can be directly caused by eating too much, especially too much of the wrong foods. Fast food, junk food, and processed foods, available in huge portions for cheap prices, are driving factors in the American economy. However, because being overweight is a major cause of disease, obesity becomes an economic problem in America, taxing the medical system with unnecessary and preventable problems. Obese individuals essentially steal treatment services from individuals who suffer from diseases that could not be prevented through lifestyle changes. Overeating is also a slap-in -- the face for those who cannot afford to eat enough, an insult to common sense and human decency. Because of the stresses and strains that overeating causes friends and family members, overeating is a behavior that resembles drug abuse; many overeaters act like drug addicts. Overeating is an affront to the individual, to his or her family, and to his or her society, and overeating causes a number of ancillary problems such as increased waste production. Obesity can also cause harm to personal property, such as broken furniture. Because overeating directly harms human health and socio-economic...

Therefore, overeating is a psychologically damaging act even it is not a directly criminal one. However, overeating can be described as criminal because the behavior does directly endanger or outright harm the health and well-being of innocent people. Eating too much is criminal because it is overtly offensive. Gorging in public is no different than indecent exposure or smoking, and can be a visual affront to any community.
However, overeating primarily harms the practitioner. Just as illicit use is illegal because of the potentially deleterious effects, so too could overeating be considered illicit behavior. An individual might not die immediately after consuming a gallon of ice cream, but after ten years of gorging on junk food, the person could indeed die of a heart attack. Overeating is similar to smoking in its definite long-term injurious effects, and eating too much is similar to suicidal behavior.

Furthermore, just as second-hand smoke can hurt other people, so too can overeating. First, overeating produces an excessive amount of waste, such food packaging and related materials that contribute to pollution. Second, and most importantly, overeating causes preventable health problems, problems that tax the health care system and…