Two-thirds of American adults are overweight, the Centers for Disease Control estimate that almost half will be obese by 2030. Obesity rates in children have tripled in the last three decades, scientists say the arteries of an obese child are about as thick a healthy 45-year-old’s should be. Obesity is a huge problem in our society, a problem that is spiraling out of control with every new fast food chain offering cheaper food. This obesity problem is not only an issue that affects those who eat fatty foods, but it also affects the taxpayer who is responsible for footing the bill to repair the damage. A third of Americans have diabetes or are pre-diabetic, and a lot of these cases are Type-2 diabetes which is the kind caused by bad eating habits. …show more content…
If fast food prices increase, but it is still the cheapest option, people will be forced to spend a larger percentage of their income on food, and thus they will have less money when they are already struggling. There is an argument for the government to, instead of raising the prices of unhealthy foods, lower the price of healthy foods by subsidizing the production of fruits and vegetables. A report issued by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, says that 87 percent of federal tax subsidies go towards funding meat, dairy, corn and other grains, of which a large portion are used to make junk foods, while less than one percent goes towards the production of fruits and vegetables. If the government used more of the agricultural subsidies to go towards producing fruits and vegetables it could really have a positive effect on reducing obesity. There seems to be a lot of subsidies for things we don’t want too much of in our diet, like sugar and fat, and there are not a lot of subsidies for healthy foods that we want more of in our