Tag Archives: obesity

Would the Founding Fathers Approve of a Sugar Tax?

Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2013

Recently Mayor Michael Bloomberg learned that his Big Gulp ban had been blocked by a state Supreme Court judge for arbitrarily targeting these consumer goods without a legal rationale.  Determined to combat the obesity epidemic, Bloomberg will no doubt appeal this … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy | Tagged ,

Should Our Government Combat the Obesity Epidemic?

Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Here is video from a talk I recently gave at the University of Wisconsin, laying out a few of the reasons I think the government needs to play a role in combating the obesity epidemic. If you dig further into … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Well-being, Health Policy | Tagged , ,

Why Restaurant Regulation Makes Sense

Posted on Monday, April 8, 2013

In the battle to combat obesity, many recent policies have taken aim at restaurants. New York City banned trans fats from restaurants, and now is limiting sugary drink sales. Many local governments have pushed for restaurants to provide calorie estimates … Continue reading →

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What Obese People Can Learn from Pigeons

Posted on Friday, January 18, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EjJsPylEOY”>video

In a 1967 experiment, psychologists trained pigeons to peck a red key to get food.  (Pigeons were huge back then, research wise!)  Then they tested whether the pigeons could learn to delay gratification.  They set up the pecking booth so … Continue reading →

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