Obesity has reached new levels in recent years for “despite years of efforts to reduce obesity in America, including a major push by Michelle Obama, federal health officials reported Thursday that the share of Americans who were obese had not declined in recent years, and had edged up slightly.” (Tavernise ) The rise in obesity is matched by increasing controversy over who is ultimately responsible for keeping Americans healthy. Should the government step in and be the parent who forbids bad choices when it comes to eating? Or should every person determine their own path when it comes to nutrition and eating healthy? Some people believe the government should regulate nutrition while others believe that each individual is responsible for their own decisions and must suffer the consequences of the decisions made. The debate has gone back and …show more content…
We need to appear strong to countries around us and when the government is trying to control the people of the United States and gains too much control, we end up appearing divided to other countries . An example is when Mr. Bloomberg’s plan became the focus of attention and the mayor of London suggested that his city would “offer sanctuary to refugees from the soda tyranny in New York” (Grynbaum, “In Soda Fight, Industry Focuses on the Long Run). It seems that he is making fun of our country - we need to be united and show strength by being able to make educated decisions on our own, not because the government tells us to. Sandy Douglas, the president of Coca-Cola North America, said “pediatricians are absolutely right to be stressing healthy eating and drinking to parents and kids ” but he “suspects that completely eliminating them is not necessary for kids to be healthy any more than eliminating ice cream, birthday cakes or cookies. The key is moderation” ( O’Connor). We need to take responsibility as
In his article Are You Responsible For Your Own Weight?, policy analyst Radley Balko argues that the Government has no business interfering with what individuals eat. Kelly Brownell, a Yale Chairman, and Marion Nestle a New York University professor state otherwise by arguing that the Government should intervene to create conditions that lead to healthy eating. Balko has a strong argument led with in depth examples, logical support, and credentials to support his tone along with minor fallacies. Kelly Brownell and Marion Nestle fail to go more in depth about her argument, but rely heavily on trying to counter the claims given by the opposing side. The lack of rhetorical devices in her article and inadequate organization weakens her tone as well as the appeal to their audience.
In the article, Daniel Weintraub argues that parents are to blame for kids being obese, not food companies. “Parents, not state government, are in the best position to fight the epidemic of overweight children in our schools.” I agree with this claim because he gives good evidence and facts. The article is well written and includes good supporting details which helps the author prove his point. Even though it may have some weak points and some things aren’t explained, it’s very convincing and credible.
SUMMARY Food columnist for the New York Times and author of culinary books, Mark Bittman, in his essay, Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables, published in July 2011, addresses the topic of unhealthy eating habits and argues that the government should tax unhealthy foods and use the money generated from the taxes to subsidize staple foods. Bittman supports his claim first by appealing emotionally when discussing the negative effects of bad eating habits such as diabetes and cancer, second drawing a comparison to other items that are taxed by the government which are unhealthy, and lastly by utilizing a substantial amount of evidence to back up his ideas. The author’s overall purpose is to discuss the current relationship between the government
America is one of the most obese countries in the world, known for apple pie and an excessive amount of McDonald’s. As a culture, there is a lack of self control when it comes to the foods we consume. People often over consume and over indulge, which has wreaked havoc on the health and well being of those who give in to these temptations. The issue is that large corporations and even our own government play a role in helping feed the problem; they care more about profitability and benefiting the business than the health of the consumer. The health of Americans is declining and more chronic diseases and health problems are appearing as a result of unhealthy diets, but there are many different methods that can help fix this issue.
Nicholas Confessore, the author of ”How School Lunch Became the Latest Political Battleground”, displays the challenges of transitioning from the old rules to the new rules as part of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign. It is clear to all parties that childhood obesity is rising at a dangerous rate in America and school lunches are believed to be the necessary first change. Unfortunately, the multiple different parties that are involved in making the changes do not see eye-to-eye. The School Nutrition Association is one of the groups pushing back against the new government policies. Since the SNA is comprised mostly of lunch ladies, they believe the current meals are the healthiest meal most students receive in a given day.
Americans are aware that their food is being regulated but many people are unaware of what is being done to make sure the food is safe. To get some perspective on how the United States regulates food it is beneficial to look at Europe's approach. The European Union takes a precautionary approach when it comes to regulating food, this is something that is not seen
The public still would choose to eat the fast food even if the fast-food company’s put warning labels on their products to warn them that it is bad for the consumer. We cannot blame the fast food industry for making our own choices. In the easy and by Radley Balko “What You Eat Is Your Business” he gives his opinion about choices on diet and exercise. Balko talks about a program where Time magazine and ABC News will host a three day summit on obesity and the program is called “How to Get Fat Without Really Trying” and bunch of other programs that is run by the government. He says that Politicians have already climbed aboard “President Bush earmarked $200 million in his budget for anti-obesity measures.
In “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko tackles the issue of who is responsible for fighting obesity. Balko argues that the controversy of obesity should make the individual consumers culpable for their own health and not the government (467). As health insurers refrain from increasing premiums for obese and overweight patients, there is a decrease in motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle (Balko 467). As a result, Balko claims these manipulations make the public accountable for everyone else 's health rather than their own (467). Balko continues to discuss the ways to fix the issue such as insurance companies penalizing consumers who make unhealthy food choices and rewarding good ones (468).
Americans today are well-known for their eating habits. With all the options the food industry gives us it makes it hard to go to the grocery store and resist picking up that bag of barbeque-flavored chips or blueberry flavored candy. Due to these processed foods obesity is a growing epidemic in our country and who is to blame for it? In an article entitled “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko, Balko argues for less government intervention. Balko believes is it our responsibility to take care of ourselves and make it a priority.
Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.
In both David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater” and “ Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business”, the argument of obesity in America is present and clear from opposing viewpoints. Both articles were written in the early 2000’s, when the popular political topic of the time was obesity and how it would be dealt by our nation in the future. While Zinczenko argues that unhealthy junk food is an unavoidable cultural factor, Balko presents the thought that the government should have no say in it’s citizens diet or eating habits. Zinczenko’s article was written with the rhetorical stratedgy of pathos in mind.
“But her school lunch control regulations, which were passed in the name of healthy eating have been an utter failure” (Gonchar). The Healthy and Hunger- Free Kids Act was supposed to gives kids a better school lunch, yet it has failed. The ultimate result was that kids are not eating their lunches and money is being put to waste. “It’s great that schools are trying to make school lunches better, they’re not doing a very good job about it, starving kids at school isn’t exactly a way to get kid’s obesity down” (Arit John). Even though school are trying to make improvements the steps they are taking are actually worsening the situation.
The Economic Incentive to keep America Obese Accredited scientists and universities all agree on this fundamental idea: a caloric surplus results in weight gain and a caloric deficit results in weight loss. This idea is regarded by most Americans as fact and heavily supported by science. With this in consideration it is rather perplexing how 68% of americans are either overweight or obese. In aggregate Americans spend more than $60 billion annually on services and products that are advertised as weight loss promoters. There’s profit to be made either getting people fat or making them think think they are losing fat.
The United States of America are threatened several decades ago by a terrible disease called overweight or obesity which affects individuals of all ages among the population of the United States of America. The percentage of the patients is remarkable according to the statistics. Immediate measurements must be taken diligently to lessen the percentage of obesity victims; otherwise, the majority of the population will be spoiled by the disease which became a threat. In her address to the mayors’ conference on January 20, 2010, the Michelle Obama said, “Obesity is one of the biggest threats to the American economy. If we continue on our current path, after 10 years, nearly 50 percent of Americans will be obese.
People need to take initiative to stop eating food that’s not healthy for them because at the end of the day it’s all up to you to stay healthy. Our country become less responsible for their own health and start to blame everyone else for their own health but look at us not eating right and wondering why they are not feeling good, you’re not doing the right thing. This world is full of