Ted Nugent recently shared his views on obesity on X, posting a clip from an old interview with Conan O’Brien. In the interview, Nugent commented on weight issues, saying, “Well, you know, we could be funny about it because fat people are kind of cute, but it’s the number one cause of death in free world. There’s obesity and bad diets, you know.”
He then talked about his own diet and lifestyle: “I’m just a guitar player, and I’m 52 years old, and I’m kind of limping and over-the-hill, but my family only eats what we kill ourselves. We eat venison and ducks and geese and quail, and it’s so pure and natural. I’ve never touched alcohol, drugs, tobacco, or fast food. My idea of fast food is an elk, you know.”
Nugent has been vocal about obesity in the U.S. over the years. In 2022, he criticized the issue while discussing former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s remarks on low military recruitment rates.
Esper wrote in a Fox News op-ed that many Americans are unfit for military service due to obesity, substance use, or criminal records. Nugent criticized those affected, saying they were “destroying [their] sacred temple with toxic non-food with ingredients which you can’t pronounce in portions that would sink the Bismarck.”
A year later, he suggested establishing a government agency dedicated to addressing the obesity crisis as a possible solution.
