Instead of vilifying fat and poor people, this country needs to consider the roots of our obesity epidemic. Although obesity is largely biological and some people are more likely to gain weight, there are other ways to address the problem of obesity without having to change a person's genetic makeup. Efforts can be made to reform the institutional disparities that make it difficult for low-income people to maintain a healthy weight. A healthy lifestyle isn't cheap. More nutritious and better quality foods are often more expensive and harder to find in poorer areas. A step in the right direction would be to encourage the opening of supermarkets in poor neighborhoods by creating tax incentive programs and adjusting zoning laws. The sad truth is that obesity affects both young people and adults in our country. One way to solve this problem is to increase funding for public schools in low-income areas, which could mean better quality food in cafeterias and more nutrition and physical care.