Albert Camus and the Absurdity of Obesity

Albert Camus

Albert Camus, the French-Algerian philosopher known for his exploration of the absurd, offers a compelling lens through which to view the modern obesity epidemic. Camus asserts that life is inherently meaningless, yet humans persist in seeking meaning—a struggle he famously illustrates through the story of Sisyphus, condemned to roll a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down. "The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world" (Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus 28).

Though Camus never specifically addressed obesity, his philosophy provides a framework for analyzing public health efforts to combat the epidemic. In a world overflowing with unhealthy food options and conflicting health messages, efforts to promote healthier eating habits can be seen as acts of rebellion against the chaos. Public health education campaigns like "5-A-Day," which encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables, reflect Camus’s emphasis on clarity and autonomy. "Life is the sum of all your choices," he writes in Neither Victims Nor Executioners, underscoring the importance of informed decision-making.

Camus would likely critique the food industry’s aggressive marketing tactics, especially those aimed at children. He would view manipulative advertising as an absurd contradiction—a society that claims to value health while profiting from unhealthy habits. "A government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more" (Camus, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death). For Camus, limiting harmful food advertisements would represent a moral stand against dehumanization, an act of defiance against systems that exploit human weaknesses.

Physical activity, another essential component of combating obesity, aligns with Camus’s love of life’s simple pleasures—sun, sea, and movement. In Notebooks, he writes, "Live to the point of tears." Creating spaces that encourage walking, biking, and other forms of physical activity not only addresses obesity but also affirms life’s inherent beauty, a small but significant rebellion against the absurd.

For those already affected by obesity, Camus’s portrayal of Dr. Rieux in The Plague serves as a poignant metaphor. Rieux fights a deadly, unstoppable epidemic not with hope for a cure but out of a sense of moral duty. Similarly, today’s healthcare workers, dietitians, and public health officials combat the obesity epidemic, not with promises of easy solutions but with a commitment to reducing suffering and improving quality of life. "What is true of all the evils in the world is true of plague as well. It helps men to rise above themselves," Camus writes (The Plague, 120).

Ultimately, Camus would reject the notion that obesity can be fully conquered. In The Myth of Sisyphus, he concludes that "one must imagine Sisyphus happy," suggesting that meaning is found not in victory but in the struggle itself. Public health workers and individuals striving to combat obesity may never fully succeed, but their daily acts of resistance—choosing health over apathy, education over ignorance—are what infuse life with purpose. "Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better," Camus states in The Fall (110). In choosing to fight against the epidemic, we assert our freedom, embracing the struggle as a testament to our humanity.

Sources

Camus, Albert

 The Fall. Translated by Justin O’Brien, Vintage International, 1991.

The Myth of Sisyphus. Translated by Justin O’Brien, Vintage International, 1991.

Neither Victims Nor Executioners. Translated by Dwight Macdonald, University of Chicago Press, 1968.

Notebooks 1935–1942. Translated by Philip Thody, Marlowe & Co., 1995.

The Plague. Translated by Stuart Gilbert, Vintage International, 1991.

Resistance, Rebellion, and Death. Translated by Justin O’Brien, Vintage Books, 1995.

Gay-Crosier, Raymond. "Camus’s Ethics of Rebellion." The French Review, vol. 58, no. 2, 1984, pp. 210–220. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/393324.