Is There Anything, Anything At All, That Is Not About Socialism?

This letter to the Chronicle is just rich:

Obesity as a threat to life expectancy in U.S.

Editor -- Regarding the article headlined, "Obesity threatens to cut life expectancy in U.S." (March 17): Richard Suzman, associate director of the National Institute on Aging, is quoted attributing shorter life expectancy in this country to lifestyles that increase obesity.

There was no mention of some of the other differences between this country and France, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Britain.

In those countries, there are more universal health-care systems, lower incarceration rates, more humane treatment of prisoners, less dependency on automobiles, more vacation time, shorter work weeks, less homelessness, less gun violence, no capital punishment, less income disparity and stronger trade unions. And those are only some of the differences.

Couldn't those other factors account for at least some of the difference in longevity? I don't doubt that fat people do not live as long on average, but the logic presented in that article can't be called a scientific conclusion.

DANNY SWARZMAN
San Francisco