Couldn't disagree more. I wish I had stuck with the diet of my 20's (50 years ago), whole foods exclusively, brown rice, beans, vegetables, some seeds and fruit. The difficulty for most people is their learned habits, which include whether they cook and what they cook.

No need to go to the gym either, walking and some body weight and resistance/band workouts are just as good, and nearly free.

Once again the sticking point is learned habits. No need for $100 running shoes, comfortable shoes will do, actually no need to run. You are right, dangerous neighborhoods and multiple jobs are real obstacles, but there's no need to invent obstacles.

As you say weight loss is not a matter of moral fitness. It is, however a matter of education and habits. In these days of the internet, education can be pretty cheap, and our habits are largely under our own control.