It's Not Your Fault
Have you ever been told that your obesity is your fault? Here's what the food industry, government messaging, and decades of deliberate reframing don't want you to know.
Have you ever been told that your obesity is your fault? After all, that's what the food factory wants you to believe. Even though it is the mass-produced, packaged products hawked as "food" by these conglomerates that promote fat build-up — the sugar-loaded cereals, frozen pizzas, soda, chips, and snack cakes, products engineered to trigger cravings — that crowd every grocery aisle.
Government messaging often echoes this blame, while food lobbyist dollars influence the very agencies meant to protect public health, complicating efforts to address the nation's growing obesity problem.
How Bad Has It Gotten?
To provide context for how significant this problem has become, consider the following: Between 1890 and 1894, the obesity rate amongst veterans was 3.4%. In 1990, the obesity rate in America was 19.3%. Now it is approximately 42.5%.
“Unless there was some top-secret particle accelerator accident in the 70s that led to a catastrophic population-wide genetic mutation — genetics alone is probably not the only, or even the major, factor driving this growth.”
Yes, DNA from our parents contributes massively — thought to account for 40–70% of BMI variation. But consider this analogy: your DNA is like a car. The car — no matter how much gas it has — won't run without a battery, starter, steering, fluids, brakes, and keys. DNA is necessary, but alone it doesn't set everything in motion.
What Changed in the 1970s?
The 1970s marked a turning point in the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Advances in food processing technology enabled manufacturers to mass-produce shelf-stable, highly processed foods at unprecedented scale. Changes in agricultural policy encouraged cheap commodity crops like corn and soy — fueling the rise of affordable, calorie-dense ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and refined vegetable oils.
Aggressive marketing campaigns emerged, targeting families and children with colorful packaging and persuasive advertising, making ultra-processed foods seem not just convenient but desirable. Kitchens once stocked with fresh ingredients were now filled with machine-processed, shelf-stable, hyper-palatable food-like products. These were designed to be profitable — not healthy.
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The Blame Shift
Some may argue that individuals are ultimately responsible and can make healthier choices regardless of what's available. However, this argument does not fully account for the significant effect of food environments on decision-making and behavior. When highly processed, calorie-dense foods become widely accessible and aggressively marketed, making healthy choices becomes substantially more difficult for the average person.
When food manufacturers started taking heat for the public weight gain, they put up their shields. Instead of cutting back on added sweeteners or reformulating recipes, manufacturers actively promoted the idea that obese individuals were solely responsible for their size — and that exercise was the key to weight loss. There was no mention of reducing sugar intake. This deliberate reframing effort protected profits, not the public.
Say It With Me
Ultimately, blaming you for obesity actually makes outcomes worse. Remember, it's not your fault that society is saturated with cheap, unhealthy food. It is not your fault that our general lives require less physical effort. Nor is it your fault that you inherited the genes that facilitate weight gain.
“It's. Not. My. Fault.”
Understanding this isn't about removing personal responsibility — it's about directing your energy at the right target. When you stop blaming yourself for a problem that was largely engineered around you, you free up the mental space to actually do something about it. That's where we come in.
Dr. Aston sees this pattern in patients every week — people who've been failed by a system that blamed them for outcomes it helped create. If that's you, we'd like to talk.
Former military, strength athlete, and physician who rebuilt his own health after struggling with weight through training and residency. Dr. James writes about the real causes of chronic disease and what it actually takes to fix them.
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