Radley Balko What You Eat Is Your Business Essay

It has become common today to dismiss the idea of personal responsibility, however, Radley Balko,  author of “What You Eat Is Your Business,” has not. The article, published on Monday 23, 2004,on the website Cato Institute, reminds us of the importance and significance of personal responsibility in dealing with obesity.  Additionally, he argues that  government’s  attempt to  restrict American diets and without consumers being  held accountable for their unhealthy lifestyles is useless .

Recently, a lot of debate has gone around about whether or not obesity is considered a disease or not. It is very difficult to pinpoint one sole reason obesity is occurring in people, there are many different justifications for what causes a person to become obese. Obesity is a disease that is currently sweeping the entire world. Percentages of not just adults, but children are skyrocketing like never before. People have never been so overweight until now. I am going to examine why obesity is considered a disease through a scientific, economic, historical, and futuristic lenses.

In Don’t Blame the Eater, David Zinczenko composes his opinion on the fast food industry’s absence of nutritional information and more. Zinczenko starts his piece by giving his own life experience. He recalls his childhood trying to find food and that fast food was “the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal” (Zinczenko 462). By giving his own life experience, Zinczenko relates to the reader and grabs their attention.

“I couldn't open up a magazine, you couldn't read a newspaper, you couldn't turn on the TV without hearing about the obesity epidemic in America.” is a quote by Morgan Spurlock, that acutely describes the obesity problem going on in America. Any way one can want to talk about the problem, it will always be a huge dilemma throughout the United States. For a long time now, people have been discussing who is to blame for the obesity crisis going on. Some people prefer to blame the government, several blame the restaurants, others the parents and even the schools receive criticism for obesity. People should develop their own ideas on the obesity crisis and to figure out who is to blame and how to fix the problem.

Balko argues that the health care system in our country is shifting towards socialism. Just recently, Congress passed a bill that could cause people to pay for other’s medicine. Also, insurance companies are no longer allowed to charge obese patients higher premiums. This attempt to end obesity just puts less responsibility on personal well-being and more responsibility for other’s. He continues to argue that socialism of private health will lead to further federal restrictions on the freedom of choice. To Balko the way to end the obesity epidemic in America, is to pull the issue of obesity from “public health” and return ownership of health back over to individuals, allow insurance companies to compensate people with healthy lifestyles, stop the socialization of health care, and allow not used medical savings to be rolled into retirement savings. These changes bring back accountability to individuals. We will all begin to eat better and exercise more when we have to pay for our own health care.

The obesity epidemic remains to have significance pressure on our lives. The HBO Film “Weight of the Nation” aim to open’s viewer’s eyes to a major increasing problematic that impact the existence of the human population in According to Suzanne Bennett the creator of the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic American. Current Statistic shows that the rate of obesity in the 1960s and 1970s only 13 percent of U.S. adults and 5 to 7 percent of U.S. children were obese. Today, 17 percent of our children, 32 percent of adult males, and 36 percent of adult females are obese. Some factor I believe contribute to obesity before seeing the Weight of the Nation are an unhealthy diet, consuming of food that is high in fat and people who have trouble coping with personal life that might lead to depression etc.

Obesity is becoming one of the biggest problems in the country, but there has to be reasons for it. It can be the economy, society now, or people and companies. It’s time that our country starts to realize that we can’t live like this anymore. We need to see what is causing the sudden rise in obesity, and what we can do to fix it. Education of risks and solutions can be very helpful. Obesity is killing so many people, yet is still 100 percent avoidable. Our country is beginning to care less and really let themselves go. The fast food industry, supermarkets, and schools are the ones at fault for the spreading problem of obesity.

They consistently advertise products that are appealing to certain age groups because of their sweetness, tang or whatever, and evidence suggests that children exposed to junk food advertising express greater preference for these types of food (Khullar 127). It’s no wonder that people struggle to think for themselves when it comes to eating. They have no room left for thought when they are constantly exposed to what the media and food companies want them to buy. Plus, when the food tastes good as advertised, there’s no need to try and bite the hand that feeds them. Unfortunately, by killing the need to decide their own diets, they are contributing to a country overrun by obesity. The processed foods being marketed are filled with ingredients the body isn’t meant to digest and as such the body barely can. And it’s not just that, but the large volume of foodstuffs available has given people the opportunity to over-consume. They no longer eat to sate hunger, but to continue gratifying their taste

In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, the writer, David Zinczenko, initially argues that those teens who are fat because of eating fast food from restaurants like McDonalds, should take responsibility for their obesity. He then sympathizes with the obese children by giving his own childhood example. His mother and father were usually away working and he had no other choice but to rely on fast food restaurants. He argues about the growing number of fast food chains, how FDA doesn’t take notice of the ingredients that are not mentioned on food packaging and how it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their children are eating right. He also argues that the money fast food chains like McDonalds are spending on advertising and targeting

Michael Pollan is an accomplished American author, writing books such as Cooked, Food Rules, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Botany of Desire and In Defense of Food. He earned a Bachelor’s in English from Bennington College in 1977 and a Master’s in English from Columbia University in 1981. He is also a journalist, activist and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (About Michael Pollan). Pollan claims in the book “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto he wants to help us reclaim our health and happiness as eaters (7). Although the book is interesting and informative, one would expect an author with such and extensive English background and accolades would write more fluidly. The usage of quotes and research results is necessary in order to support an author’s claim, yet, the overuse may cause the reader to become

Balko draws his readers in by introducing the governments fight on obesity, saying that federal funds for obesity measures are already set aside along with school campuses across the country are now banning snacks and soda along with vending machines into their facilities. This information immediately contributes in the essay as an attention grabber. It's also a great way to get the reader's attention and interest. This background information help sets up his next point in his following paragraph

The government presently has programs in place that are meant to urge people to deal with their weight. Cities generally have parks which supply free exercise-related areas to the public. While the government offers resources for people to challenge obesity, the government should “let each [person] take responsibility for [their] diet and lifestyle.”(Balko) An individual, not the government, pays the consequences of obesity in their value of life. In fact, the government should not pay for any backlash of obesity, because it removes a person’s own accountability, but “we’re likely to make better decisions when someone else isn’t paying for the consequences.” (Balko). Obesity does not occur in a day or a week, but through a sequence of choices and routines, which form a lifestyle. A law highlights a problem and provides a solution, this procedure is often efficient in dealing with the problem. But as for the growing problem of obesity, solutions suggested are usually short term regulations which cannot always connect a multi-generational problem. Instead of taking away temptations, such as fast food chains or unhealthy foods, the government should continue encouraging people to live a healthy life. The benefit of healthy living is that it is not limited to today, if prioritized, healthy living can become a long-lasting

“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).

Obesity has caused great dilemma in America. It was known as an adult disease. “Over two thirds of adults are over weight or obese.”(Obesity, Jerry R Ballenttne) these numbers are increasing rapidly. Obesity is not just a appearance

This paper will examine the government’s involvement in obesity in American citizens today. The paper will first discuss the causes of obesity and how out of hand it is starting to