Fun While It Lasted

Remember Bill Cosby’s stand-up comic routine about “loving to see Harold get a beatin’”? I have to be honest, I’m that way when it comes to Wal-Mart. So it came as no surprise that I got a secret pleasure reading the recent headline, “Does Having A Wal-Mart Come To Town Make You Fat?”.  Two economics professors have traced the influence of the growing number  of Wal-Marts across the country to the growing number of obese consumers. Their research shows that an additional Supercenter per 100,000 residents parallels an increased obesity rate in that area by 2.4 percent; implying the cheaper the food, the more consumers buy, and the more they eat. Of course no one is forced to shop at Wal-Mart, it’s a personal choice, as the two researchers were quick to point out, stating they didn’t want their results to be taken as a ban on all Wal-Marts. And, hard as it is for me, I have to admit they’re right. It isn’t Wal-Mart, the local McD’s, the double-wide fridge, that comfortable recliner, farmers, or the government that makes us fat, it’s simply a “hand to mouth” personal choice. But for one brief moment I enjoyed blaming Wal-Mart.