Obesity is the new epidemic that haunts our country these days. In 2014, Maine had an adult obesity rate of 28.2%, meaning almost 3 in 10 people are overweight. Obesity is now the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, second only to tobacco. Trans fats have been under fire for contributing to the obesity epidemic. Some law officials have even instituted a ban of these fats. However, this is not the appropriate action, as it sends a message to the public that they cannot solve this problem on their own. Therefore, Hallowell should continue to allow trans fats because the public needs to learn to make healthy decisions themselves instead of being forced to change by government action. There are many alternatives to …show more content…
Source B supports my claim by arguing, “Interestingly, The New York City Board of Health recently instituted a ban on the use of most artificial trans fats in restaurants in that city. While that experiment will be useful to watch, it will likely be decades–if ever–before other locales, especially those in the Deep South, are willing to go that far.” Acting on our own is faster and more of a long term solution than government action. We would not learn anything from the government instituting a ban on trans fats. It would basically be saying that our population cannot make smart decisions. Our society would simply find the next tasty treat and then the government would have to ban that as well. On the other hand, if we were to get healthy on our own, it could have a lingering effect. Once people’s healths improved by making better choices, they would be less likely to eat the fatty foods. If they stopped eating these snacks, it would force stores to adapt and start selling healthier alternatives. When this happened, people would have an easier time finding nutritious foods, as they would be at every business. To win the battle with obesity, people need to starting choosing more nourishing foods due to the widespread effect that would