Essay about Should the Government Have a Say in Americans' Diets?

In the editorial “Government Intervention and The Nation’s Diet: The Slippery Slope of Inaction”, Kelly D. Brownell compares the government’s inaction regarding the consequences of a poor diet to its passiveness regarding the dangers of tobacco among American citizens. Brownell describes the government in the early stages of any health crisis associated with personal behavior with the example of a cheerleader “imploring from the sidelines for the players (the public) to behave better and stop smoking, eating too much, or drinking” (Brownell 1).

In the essay, “What You Eat is Your Business”, Radley Balko writes to tell his audience about how the government is trying to control people’s health and eating habits by restricting food, taxing high calorie food, and considering menu labeling. Balko includes in his essay that government restricting diets and having socialist insurance is not helping the obesity problem, but it is only making it worse because it not allowing people to take their health in to their own hands so they have no drive to lose weight or eat healthy. In his essay, Balko is targeting society, including those who may be obese, he is trying to show them that the laws our

Radley Balko, the once editor of the Huffington Post, argues in his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” that personal responsibility is necessary when it comes to the food you ingest and your health. Balko goes into detail about how the government should not have a hand in what consumers eat or where they eat by discussing initiatives the government has put in place. Anti-obesity initiatives such as the request for more food labels and the restriction of junk food in vending machines at schools are becoming more popular and causing the American population to not take responsibility for their own health choices. American’s well-being has become an issue of “public health” instead of being an individual concern.

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

Why does America have an obesity problem? Do we blame it on ourselves, the government, or the supermarket? It is obviously and individual’s responsibility to keep one’s self healthy, but are there ways the government can strive for an overall healthier diet for Americans? Can we change the manipulative ways of Super Markets and persuade them to look past profit? The American government should put in effort to provide a better dietary path for American citizens by working on motivating individuals to make better choices in their diet, pushing Super markets and industries to work together to lower prices of healthier foods, and placing policies and banning unhealthy ingredients in junk foods. It may not be the governments fault, but obesity is such a big issue in American culture that we need to make some major changes and the government is the only one who can make that happen.

On the other hand, the opposition believes that is not fair that the government wants to interfere in their own food choices. The U.S. government by adding taxes on junk food wants to tell people what they have to eat and what they don’t have to. People must have the right and the freedom to decide what is good and healthy for them and what is not. Also, they affirm that adding taxes on junk food won’t help to combat health diseases and even the obesity on this country because people that love junk food will still buy it, no matter how much it will costs. In addition, some people think that the junk food is convenient for low income people because it saves them the time and money that they have and most of the time it’s not a treat for them, it is the only type of food that they can afford. However, I think that they are completely wrong because junk food is cheap that is true, but it is unhealthy and it is killing and causing many health problems to the people that eat it. After certain time people that consume junk food will have to deal with the problems that eating this type of food cause and they will spend more

Such as the government having some control over what we eat just like they can have control in smoking laws or wearing your seatbelt law. Others say that the people should be able to have their own say on what they want to eat because its their bodies and their lifestyle of food they want to consume. Since the 1960s obesity in America has more than tripled regardless of sex or race. Today 30.5 percent or 69 million American Adults are considered obese leading to over 300,000 deaths per year. “Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually twenty percent or more over an individual's ideal body weight.

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.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) more than one third (34.96%) of U.S adults are obese. This proves that people are not taking care of their bodies and being aware of the types of foods that go in their mouths. The issue is that many people are disagreeing with the government regulating what we eat, however if this law is not enforced people will be free to buy excessive amounts of unhealthy sugary foods, leading them to a chronic disease. Even though sugary drinks and foods can have a good taste and be satisfying to many, the government should regulate what we eat because there will be less people with chronic illness, it will be less money wasted on health care for obese people, and there will be less individuals consuming trans fats.

The government should not have a say in the people’s diets. It is their life and they get to choose what decide to put into their bodies. No one needs the government telling them what to eat. Many people eat healthy by choice. Most people, at least in America, are educated well enough to distinguish between what foods are good for us and foods that are not so good for us. So people choose to eat healthy because it fits their active life-style and they enjoy their figure. If someone wants to ruin their life by eating constant junk, then let them. It is their choice. While e government says today that they may only have a say in our diets, tomorrow they will control them. As a whole many people may view themselves as adults, and know that with adulthood

“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).

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.

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

On one side, if we eat unhealthy and become unhealthy we look to the government to help. But on the other side, how free are we Americans if the government more than suggest how and what we should eat? Healthy and unhealthy should we all be suppressed in a food communism style? Is it truly safe and morally responsible for the same company that makes the scent of our food to make the scent of nonfood items? Can we all realistically grow and store what we need for a year? Many of us have the choice of the processing of our foods, but not all of us have the

How would you feel if someone was controlling what you did and did not eat? Well, The government is attempting this and I’m not sure how you feel, but I do not believe that it is right. The government should not have a say in our diets because it is our body and we should be the only ones to have a say in our diets. Not only that but because who isn’t going to eat what they desire? We also need to be responsible enough for our own health.