Low-Fat Government Cheese, Essay Example

Should the Government have say in our Diet?

Imagine a scene when children walk out from their schools and take a turn to a McDonalds. A community where the companies earn billions of dollars in a year by providing candy or, soda machines in the educational institutes. The world in which approximately 65% of adults are considered obese or overweight. Picture a place where obesity or overweight take the life of people more than smoking. Suppose you were informed about this location is a nightmare or not in your thoughts but, is the same world where we live in at present? Should you search for the assistance for this epidemic? If you should seek assistance for this and where must you look? Obesity can be explained as a “body fat excess that commonly results in a considerable harm of health. Obesity appears when the number or size of fat cells increases in the body of person (Michael D. Myers, M.D., Inc.)” Today, many states are purposing bills to ban Trans (unsaturated) fat in the hotels and restaurants and some people give their consent to this bill. Since the rates of obesity are increasing very quickly and some people think that the government should have say in selecting our diet and intervene with this issue as they worked in the situations of seat belts and smoking. Because people are unable to control what they eat so the government must have a right to say in deciding what people take as a food. The opponents of this issue argue that private citizens must be responsible for their personal actions. People are responsible for their own health and so the government must not intervene in selecting the food. I believe the majority of the accountability for obesity is in the private citizens of United States. I think the government must legalize something that has deals with the obesity and health.

No one can ignore the influence of obesity in the health of Americans and one can see this issue everywhere. And also no one can ignore the fact that obesity has more influences on such people which hold the less money. We can observe an increase in the issues related to health for instance heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. Obesity approximately becomes the reason of death for approximately 400,000 people in a year and the costs the American economy around $117 billion per year. The public opinion and expert opinion conclude that obesity is very dangerous but where does this issue begins and what we can do to stop it?

It is a well known fact that obesity in America especially in children has increased three times in the last twenty years. Childhood obesity generally directs to obesity in adulthood. The increasing obesity rate in children is also escalating the rate of diabetes in juvenile. If obesity in children is prevented than the obesity in adults is reduced. Now the question arise that how do we minimize the childhood obesity? This is the time when the government needs to intervene. If the government presents a nutrition classes to the pregnant woman and mothers then being mother they can use the knowledge at the time of raising their children. Parents must also motivate their children for daily exercise. If the children in yearly physical examination program present the increase in obesity, the government must have some interventional approaches to educate the children on disease, food, and exercising. I think if the parents cannot appropriately pay attention to their children the state must in this case intervene. People might fine this argument not possible to understand but it happens already.

Child Protective Services is an agency of the government that works for child neglect or abuse. Abuse might involve the sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. Neglect in this case might involve absence of supervision, inability to provide essential remedial or medical care, and experience to parental substance abuse. The agency has been already exist that is believe to protect children from abuses we can make an argument that children which are obese are issues of failure to provide essential medical care, physical abuse and absence of supervision. If it is only choice we have to stop obesity in children than I feel we must use this agency. If parents are unable to properly cure the health concern of their children than they are abusing their kids so the government must intervene in this situation. I believe more interventional programs in educational institutes would also assist young adults and children. Taking a health semester is not adequate we have to start prompting a healthy lifestyle.

The people who are opponent to the issue, that government must intervene in selecting the food that people take, say that government seeking to legalize what people eat is just time wastage. The people assert that governments in order to control this issue need to remove all salty, sugar and fatty food. This would result into to close many restaurants and fast food corners and a huge number of people will lost their jobs. The government must stay out of the private lives of people, no need to intervene with free project, and let the people with freedom to decide what and where they eat, if the facts concerning to the nutrition are posted than people must be free to make the accurate decision. If the people would recognize that obesity influences us all.

The companies are using various techniques to market their products to people whether it is product placements, celebrities, or, on clothes. For instance companies market their product to kids to try and affect their food decisions. It has been determined that the amount spend on marketing the products to children is about 10 billion dollars a year. Companies obviously spend billions dollars for children since they think it works. A National Academies Institution of Medicine (NAIM) study reveals that advertisement through television influences children’s food purchase, food choice, health and diet. The institute found that most food marketed to the children is unhealthy. According to Harrison K, and Marske AL 80% of food marketed through children programs are fast foods, convent foods, and sweet foods.

Children are not typically concerned about their health matters so it makes them a simple target groups for the companies. This creates the food attractive to kids and difficult for parents to struggle to get their children to eat healthier products. Celebrities and cartoon characters have better options to affects what children eat than parents; companies exercise this to their benefit. The government must intervene in the approaches that companies use to advertise their products to children. The government must provide incentives to those companies that advertise healthy products towards children. The government must also not permit educational institute to market or sell their items in any institute.

I think the government must intervene and regulate what people take particularly for children. It is very simple to affect children to make healthy products and decisions. If the government can think on a tax cut to the families that are healthy or incentive to the business that sell healthy products. If the government observes how much chemicals or Trans Fat mix into food can assist with obesity in Americans. The government officials can struggle and control the portions. Most Americans like extra large burgers and super sized pizza. If the government officials can affect the companies to close the larger sizes of their products from the menu it could be helpful in saving lives. The government can also struggle by taxing obese people because they are a burden in the society. The people must be taxed on the expense they incurred concerning to their health issues. It is possible that this step can be proved as incentive for people to reduce their weight.

Governments can also struggle to educate people concerning to the food they take. Through this people can understand that what bad foods are and what are good for our health and bodies. How obesity can be prevented and what will occur to you if you do turned out over weighted. I believe that the government must have a right to say when we select our foods. People must be provided an option and chance to take care for their children and for themselves. When people are mistreating themselves being gradually but certainly killing themselves the government must help these people. The government is required to prevent this epidemic. The government must take steps to intervene before the time it is too late. The intervention of government can save money and lives. I believe at this time it is the essential and only choice for this epidemic. Now picture a world where children are not watching television but are riding the bikes outside, a place where every advertisement is not a food advertisement, and a place where television does not develop children but parents do. A healthy environment, I believe this type of world can be created if only government should have a say in selecting our food by intervening in our decisions.

References

Sheehan, Missy. (2011). Food safety or unnecessary government regulation? Retrieved on 27-Nov-11 from http://www.journal-news.net/page/blogs.detail/display/399/Food-safety-or-unnecessary-government-regulation-.html.

Leech, Eric. If Being Thin is Green, Should the Government Have a Say Over Our Weight? An Article Retrieved on 26, Nov, 2011 from http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/if-being-thin-is-green-should-the-government-have-a-say-over-our-weight.html

Greenberg, Tamara M. Should The Government Regulate Our Health? An Article Retrieved on 26, Nov, 2011 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamara-mcclintock-greenberg/should-the-government-reg_b_441493.html.

McElroy, Wendy. (2006). Should Government Regulate What We Eat? An Article Retrieved on 26-Nov-11 from http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1846.