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Obesity Persuasive Essay

1217 Words5 Pages

In the United States, 23.5 million adolescents are either obese or overweight. Further, according to the World Factbook, obesity affects 35 percent of the United States adult population (IX). Obesity, by definition, doesn’t adversely affect the health of it’s victim, however, complications that arise from untreated obesity (Ventricular tachycardia, poor cardiovascular fitness, high cholesterol, heart failure etc.) can. Therefore, recognizing obesity as a serious malady, and allocating appropriate programs to prevent it, is essential in restoring the overall health of the United States. Unfortunately, for staunch conservatives, government intervention may be the only feasible option in the uphill battle against obesity. Throughout Europe, strong government initiatives have proven effective in lowering both adult and adolescent obesity rates. For example, in France, whose obesity rate is 25.7 percent (CIA), legislation regarding the restriction of unhealthy food advertising has proven beneficial in lowering obesity rates (V). Basically, the French initiative focuses chiefly on foods high in sugar, saturated fat, calories, and sodium. Ultimately, companies who produce “unhealthy food” are prohibited from running advertisements on government owned media outlets. As a result, unhealthy food falls …show more content…

Since the United States is such a large (in more ways than one) and diverse country, proposing a government initiative that limits the availability of junk food may prove difficult. Ideally, inflating the cost of unhealthy food would dissuade lower income families from buying junk food. However, since healthier food is generally more expensive than junk food, a bacon-cheeseburger deluxe is $1.69 at Burger King while a salad is $6.19 (XIV), regulating junk food, and not subsidizing health food, would leave the poor with limited food

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