America and Food....

Food is culture, or so I have heard half a dozen times. And America doesn't have much of a proud culture...hot dogs, apple pie, burgers...did we invent the sandwich? I guess that is something worth being proud of.
Anyway, it seems to me that this 'obesity epidemic' thing is out of control. Ok, so Americans are overweight. Ok, this is unhealthy. But aren't we overreacting just a touch?
People do unhealthy things all the time. But overeating, although costly to the health care system, doesn't seem to be the biggest threat. After all, SuperSizing my meal at McDonald's doesn't cause me to act irrationally or lose my ability to think clearly.
As long as I'm not eating behind the wheel (which I don't condone), it doesn't make me unsafe to other people.
I guess it isn't the media coverage that bothers me, as much as the less frowned upon social response. Today I heard an employee at Starbuck's say he was on a 'less-than-1000-calorie' a day diet. People skip meals, people starve themselves, etc. etc.
And all but the most extreme cases are socially acceptable, as far as I can see.

So I've come to a tentative conclusion: We are too obsessed with weight. You can't make everything into such a simple issue--overweight or underweight. Shouldn't it be more important that we are getting all of our proper nutrients?
People can be overweight and healthy. People can be underweight and healthy. People can be overweight and happy. People can be of 'ideal' weight and unhappy.

This is probably obvious too almost everyone reading this. But then why do we forget it when we go about our lives?