I believe that if healthy food is more advertised it will be eaten more. America needs to practice healthier eating behaviors. The media is all about fast food. Who doesn't know the slogan At McDonald’s we love to see you smile? If the media took a step back and focused on positive eating the public will react and chose a healthier lifestyle.
In this essay, by Radley Balko, he refers to America’s approach at controlling obesity. He talks about the government trying to regulate menus and meals. He raises a good point in saying that the government getting involved with what we can eat, makes it feel like it’s not our responsibility to regulate our own eating habits. He also raises the point that America has taxes to assist those who are out of shape, but everyone is required to pay, irrelevant to their physical build. He is considered to be a liberal, which supports the fact that he would disagree with government regulating what food people eat to prevent obesity.
1. Explain the ethical dilemma and explain why it is a dilemma. Our government needs to do something to turn the growing wave of obesity in our country but is taxing unhealthy foods the answer? Despite no clear evidence of a link between obesity and eating unhealthy food there is a movement to tax what we put in our mouths. However, does eating unhealthy food cause obesity or does obesity cause one to eat unhealthy food (Marlow, 2013)?
In Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business,” he argues that obesity is the responsibility of the individual not the government. According to Balko, “Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in the ownership of our own health and well being.” What Radley Balko is trying to say is, the government shouldn’t try to change what foods are accessible to consumers but instead make consumers responsible for their choices. Although I feel that consumers should take some responsibility. I believe that the government should do their best to enable its people to make the right choices. In my opinion, removing some of the harmful food products from the market is a step in the accurate direction.
I believe that we are taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity and that it is an individual’s responsibility to take the blame. The first fast food restaurants developed in America in the 1920’s and the United States has grown to have the largest fast food industry in the world. Currently one third of American children are obese or at risk of becoming obese and 67% of Americans are obese. McDonald’s was invented in the 1940’s and has since acquired millions of lawsuits for their extremely unhealthy food. Burger King soon followed in the 50’s and has also received its fair share of lawsuits.
For example, it shows us the risks of eating fast food, specifically McDonald’s fast food. Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald’s fast food for thirty days straight. He gained 25 pounds and also doubled his chances for heart disease. It took Morgan 14 months to lose his extra weight and he said it was nothing close to being easy. In addition, this movie shows the ways schools are affecting obesity in their students.
For example, it shows us the risks of eating fast food, specifically McDonald’s fast food. Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald’s fast food for thirty days straight. He gained 25 pounds and also doubled his chances for heart disease. It took Morgan 14 months to lose his extra weight and he said it was nothing close to being easy. In addition, this movie shows the ways schools are affecting obesity in their students.
How Poverty Affects Obesity English 135 How Poverty Affects Obesity How fast would you die if you didn’t have food? A better question might be how fast could you die if you did have food? Americans are slowly eating themselves to death; getting larger and larger and the more financially disadvantaged you are the quicker the food you are eating will kill you. Obesity also has a stronghold on the weakest of society, the children. Although obesity in adults continues to rise, the citizens of this nation are accustomed and less attuned to this issue.
Daniel Weintraub, in his article, "The battle against fast food begins in the home", states that parents are to blame for childhood obesity. The essence of Weintraub's argument is that it is the parents responsibility not the government, nor are the fast food companies bound to teach kids how to eat healthy and how to say active. He also mentioned results of statistics made on social economic status and gender, which shows that more kids are overweight due to fast food restaurants, supersizing and lack of exercise. Weintraub refutes these findings by emphasizing how parents are responsible for what their kids eat. As a result, his own recommendations include: limiting the consumption of sodas, junk food as well as avoiding a sedentary lifestyle.
Burgers, French fries, sodas, milkshakes, ice cream, etc are just an example of the wide menu McDonald’s has to offer the consumer making it easy for them to order a highly caloric meal. This can lead to serious health problems like Obesity, heart problems, diabetes and even different types of cancer in the long run. Obesity: According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, between 16 and 33 percent of teenagers in the United States are obese. Teenagers are considered obese when they are 20 percent or more above the normal weight for their age and height. Obesity is caused by eating more calories than the body burns.