Here's a disturbing link if ever there was one (especially the photo of the walking diesel tank in the red shorts and black top... that just captures the issues soooo succinctly).
"We thought the world end by Fire. It turns out to be Ice." - The Mad Scientist (said to me as the credit crisis in late 2008/early 2009 dropped Oil (and every other commodity) on its head.
I think that line works for our purposes here as well. Peak Oil, deficits, imbalances, currency risks, feminism.... all pale in comparison to a world filled with people so fat they are painful to behold.
Well not me. Nor my kids if I can help it (my wife is far too disciplined for me to be concerned about her in this regard. The Japanese have a saying - "hal lay hatche bu mei" that they live by... which literally means "eat only till 80% full").
The un-intended consequences of "going soft": Bi-polar disorder, depression, borderline personal disorder, obesity, drug and alcohol addiction... well, as it turns out the "cure" has turned out worse than whatever disease we were trying to cure.