Adult Obesity And Its Effects On Our Health

It is not the government’s responsibility to manage what we eat. “Government is setting aside whether they have the constitutional authority to regulate what we eat (paragraph 2, source 1).” Government regulating what we eat could stop responsible people that eat healthy from treating themselves. People who have long hours of work rely on fast foods because

People throughout the world, not only in America suffer from obesity. In the United States alone about one third of the U.S. adults is obese.1 The reality is, not only is obesity affecting adults, but it’s also affecting children as well. When you think of someone being overweight, the first thought that comes to peoples mind is overeating. Even though overeating can cause people to gain weight there are many other causes of weight gain.

Most people say that the government’s role, in our diets, is the key for a healthier life. While others may argue that it is freedom of choice to eat whatever we want. However depending on the point of view, the government’s role in shaping what we consume is either a compulsory intervention or a blatant interference on American free will. Even though we hear a good argument on the government controlling our diets, most research show that the involvement of the government on our diets has shown little to no results.

In Radley Balko’s essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Balko argues that what we put into our bodies is our business, not the government’s, and that personal responsibility should be primary in our nutrition choices. I agree wholeheartedly. However, while I do agree that personal responsibility is paramount, in the new age of the Affordable Care Act (which had not been implemented prior to Balko’s writing), it is becoming hard to say that the government should stay out of my business, when healthcare is now, by law, the government’s business. Critics of personal choice argue, like David Zinczenko does in his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater,”. These two authors both help me understand each other that the government must regulate the fast food industry similar to how they regulate the tobacco companies. How absurd it is that the government needs to regulate my waistline?

This essay aims to discover and analyse adult obesity as a challenging public health issue in England as it has a detrimental effect on the society. The rationale for choosing adult obesity as a public health issue is to comprehend and develop the knowledge of obesity and its impact on individual’s health and wellbeing to better meet the needs of an obese adult in clinical practice. Obesity will be defined, its trends and the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to an individual’s health and wellbeing will be discussed along with the health inequalities. Furthermore, this assignment will highlight relevant policies and legislation aimed at addressing the health risk and needs of an obese adult. Lastly, this essay will explain the role of a nurse in both promoting and assessing of the health requirements of obese adult and then the conclusion will be drawn summarising the key points of the essay.

Radley Balkos What You Eat is Your Business first appeared on the website of Cato Institute on May 23, 2004. He is an American journalist, author, blogger, and speaker. He writes about criminal justice, the drug war, and civil liberties for the Washington post. In this essay he talks about the government's intervention in public health issues. He tries to convince his readers that to win the fight on obesity in America, there needs to be less government restrictions on food choices and hold consumers accountable for their own health and well-being. Furthermore, Balko uses strong libertarian views along with his extensive research to help make his claim in this article.

Although many individuals are uncertain about the increasing statistics associated with obesity, more than seventy percent of men and virtually sixty-two percent of women within the United States adult population are overweight or obese (Wilmore, Costill, & Kenney). Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. If an individual’s amount of body fat becomes too excessive, he/she is at a much greater risk of developing life-altering diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, type II diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, etc. (Wilmore, et al., 2008).

Childhood obesity is also an excellent predictor of adult health and is related to adult levels of blood pressure, insulin levels, and morbidity from coronary heart disease. Children who are overweight early in life also tend to become more obese as adults when compared to people who became obese after childhood (Freedman, 2001).

What if tomorrow’s news headline read, “U.S. GOVERNMENT BANS THE SALE OF KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS?” How would the country react? According to a study released by the National Center for Health Statistics (2008), “32.7% of American adults were overweight…an additional 34.3% were obese, and that 5.9% were extremely obese” (McGuinness 43). Americans are overweight and obesity is the cause of tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the nation each year (McGuinness 42). The nation is suffering a public health crisis due to overconsumption of nutritionally void food and beverages where “unhealthy eating and sedentary living has become the societal norm” (McGuinness 46). Some believe that the government should intervene by regulating American’s diets; however, others maintain that government intervention would set a dangerous precedent by undermining individual freedoms. Allowing the government to intervene is a slippery slope and could potentially lead to more intrusive actions (“Slippery Slope” 1). Instead of abrogating personal choice the government should re-evaluate the support it gives to institutions that contribute to the obesity epidemic.

The fact is that in our country, any government intrusion looks undesirable. We are so used to making free choice and to having access to everything we need and want that we have already forgotten the value and usefulness of the government control. No, that does not mean that the government must control everything and everyone. What I mean here is that the government control should be balanced with the freedom of choice. Unfortunately, plentiful foods do not lead to improved health conditions. We cannot always make a relevant choice. Our hurried lifestyles make us extremely fast, and eating is not an exception. We eat fast, but fast does not always mean useful. I believe, and in this essay I argue that the government must have a say in our

The health of the general public “is the role of the government, and our diet is right up there with any other public responsibility you can name,” Mark Bittman claims in the online article “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables.” A nation could have a strong, balanced government but if an overwhelming number of its citizens are struggling with health diseases and obesity, the nation is in trouble and needs an immediate fix. Eventhough America is a capitalist nation, the government still can get involved and help subsidize vegetables to reduce the costs of fresh produce and healthy, organic foods. The government's job is to take care of its citizens and having unaffordable healthy foods that half the American population cannot afford is simply unacceptable. A large population of low-income families pack their food drawers with canned foods and constantly buy fast food for their family simply because healthy foods are just too costly. Since fast foods are way cheaper than fresh foods, the government getting involved can help level out the costs to help Americans be able to put fruits and vegetables on their dinner tables, not deep-fried chicken and extra large fries. Keeping its citizen healthy is one of the roles of the government and helping to lower the costs of healthy foods is a key in

Over the past 50 years, the way we eat has changed more than it had in the previous 10,000. Now, 60% of Americans over the age of 20 are overweight. The fast-food industry is highly responsible for today’s health epidemic. Some people choose to blame the government for not balancing individual rights, and the common good. However, the government is not forcing you to eat. You put yourself at risk of diet related health problems.

Childhood obesity leads to many health problems in adult hood. Obese children experience an increase in asthma (all time high now), skin diseases, joint pain and there is an increase in diabetes

Obesity in many parts of the world has become an ongoing problem. Many health risks are associated with it and have caused numerous deaths. Obesity victims have a shorter life expectancy and in most cases it could have been prevented. After the 1980’s China began to notice a pattern of its population, in adults but also adolescent. With numbers continuing to grow of obese children and adults, the government had to get involved. To create policies and programs at the community level by reaching out to adults but also focusing on the youth to give them a healthier lifestyle in their future. Over the years studies have been done to fine-tune policies to be most

Childhood obesity is a growing health issue. If we were to do the statistics on how many children are obese nationally, we will see that more that 65 percent of children are obese. Also, children that are overweight but not obese have a high chance that they will become obese later on in their life. If a child is obese then there is a high chance that they will develop many health