Is Obesity a Market Failure?

I’ve attached a video below which is pretty interesting and involves a very important discussion.  As you likely know, obesity is becoming an increasingly significant problem. And this means that there are innumerable societal costs associated with what is quickly becoming an epidemic. But is this a market failure? Or a market success? Is the preponderance of inexpensive, delicious and fatty foods a good thing or a bad thing? Is the obesity epidemic simply the result of more people choosing to eat poorly or being forced to eat poorly? Or has the system failed us in this regard and actually placing long-term burdens on the system that come in the cost of future healthcare costs and higher taxes for everyone? Are we so irrational that we actually require regulations in place to control what we can and cannot do? Crazy questions, but these are the ones that must be answered, right?

I don’t know the answers as this debate is well beyond my scope of expertise, but it’s one I would like to be better informed about. So what do you think?

– WHO Study linking regulation to lower obesity.