How obesity is a boon for economic growth

Although the great economist Maynard Keynes and his contemporaries never spoke about growth, it’s now the main priority for all politicians. They want the economic cake to grow rather than have to make painful and unpopular decisions about cutting public services or increasing redistribution. The politicians should thus be grateful for the epidemic of obesity and its related epidemic of type II diabetes as they are good for growth. I will explain why. Crucially I’m talking about growth measured by gross domestic product (GDP), which is the sum of all products and services, including NHS activities. It’s growth of GDP that politicians mean when they talk about growth. Famously a road traffic accident is good for the GDP because the occupants need NHS, undertaking services, or both, cars need repaired, and insurance and legal services are required. An accident prevented adds nothing to GDP. Obesity has increased dramatically since the 1970s because of the wide availability of cheap…

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