A University of California at Los Angeles study in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law suggests that the proportion of obese Americans has risen 20% since 1980, but the so-called obesity epidemic is at best a metaphor and not a very effective one at that. However, recent research finds no appreciable difference in mortality rates among overweight Americans with a BMI under 35. In this article, the author discusses issue behind "pathologizing" and "medicalizing" obesity.