On June 10, AEI will host a conference on obesity, individual responsibility, and public policy. The Centers for Disease Control reports that "In the United States, obesity has risen at an epidemic rate during the past twenty years." By some calculations, being overweight is as deadly as smoking. Experts will examine this claim and its implications for public policy. Is controlling obesity a matter of government regulation-through taxes or public disclosure laws-or is it a matter of willpower and choice? Does the tort system dampen individual responsibility and threaten the existence of companies whose products may be labeled as fattening? This conference will examine the epidemiology of obesity, the reasons that Americans are overweight, and the difficulties with legal and legislative remedies.