I have yet to read of any culture/society round the world through history that didn't engage in the use of substances and/or activities to give people a 'lift'. I get the general gist that there are two types of good feelings, that are labelled in lots of ways, but I think of as a buzz and happiness. But how many of us ever analyse what of what we're doing produces which?
We've put pressure on people not to do this, not to do that, and often for very good reasons, but it leaves a vacuum, and we seem to have forbidden most of the 'thin' feelgoods, leaving people with the 'fat' feelgoods, except certain prescription meds and feelgoods like the exercise of power and bolstering one's sense of superiority.
One of my favourite obesity rants is about how most of the most commonly used prescription drugs for psychosis and mood disorders, including some personality disorders, cause metabolic syndrome, and are therefore obesogenic for many that use them. We live in a country where at least 2% of the population are on drugs like antipsychotics, lithium, 'anticonvulsant' mood stabilisers, SSRIs etc. I'd guess it's actually a lot more. So if just one in four of them puts on significant weight, that's 1/2% of the population that are actively encouraged, or even forced, to take pills that will make them fat. The same goes for various other drugs that Bigpharma have managed to turn into normal essentials.
Another analogy. I drink coffee. It's normal in our society to use xanthines, which are particularly found in coffee (caffeine), tea (theobromine) and chocolate (theophylline)(chocolate). But there's a bitterness there, hence an incentive to match with sugar and for all the holier-than-thou people that enjoy their xanthine kicks but manage not to supplement with sugar, there are those that got hooked on xanthines + sugar.
I don't smoke and I drink very little, but when I see people hooked on them I don't feel superior. I observe, for example, that smoking is prevalent amongst people with severe mental illness. I used to think it was primarily about trying to 'self medicate' dysfunctionally, but now I believe that either nicotine or other substances in tobacco actually help people with psychosis.
I want to lose more fat but not to satisfy the smug so-and-sos, merely to make it easier to get up again when I fall over, and of all those in our society I feel for, one category is those that are bombarded with advertising for junk food, hit financially by austerity, living in 'food deserts', and of a social class that others feel able to look down on. (I come from a mixed family background including travellers and titled. I went to what used to be called a 'decent' school, have studied at five universities (blah, snobby blah) but have also been street homeless, very fat, very mad, and 'socially excluded', so I've seen the top and bottom of it.