Americans have finally stopped getting fatter

According to The New York Times, calorie consumption in America peaked back in 2003. That’s 12 years ago! And for once, it doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white, or rich or poor. Most people are getting thinner.

One big reason is that Americans are drinking 25 percent less sugary soda than 20 years ago.

We drink only 30 gallons a year now. It’s still a fairly disgusting amount; it’s about 240 pounds of soda. That’s enough to fill a bathtub, but it’s still 10 gallons less than in the ’90s.

The other reason is that requiring chain restaurants to post calories on their menus has made people realize that, no, they haven’t been sleep eating.

So, while more than a third of adults are still considered obese, it looks like it’s going to stop there.

And it’s a good thing, too, because the other piece of news we got is that the new cholesterol drugs intended to prevent fat from damming your arteries are going to leave us destitute.

The latest anti-cholesterol drug approved by the FDA costs $14,600 a year. That’s still way cheaper than a heart attack, or course, but to provide it to everyone who needs it would cost over a $100 billion.

It sounds like a ripoff, until you look up the numbers, which show that we already spend $65 billion on soft drinks, $96 billion on beer, and $117 billion on fast food.

So considering we already spend about $278 billion to block our arteries, I suppose the drug companies figure we can afford $100 billion to clear them up again.