The Battle On Junk Food

As an attempt to reduce the rising obesity and obesity-related disease rates, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has proposed a ban on soft drinks larger than 16 oz. According to an infographic created by the Huffington Post, extra large soft drinks have accounted for an average of 301 extra calories in people’s diets across the US. Although measures need to be put into place to improve the unhealthy diets and lifestyles of many Americans, a ban on large soft drinks is not the solution. The ban on soda would be an ineffective attempt at reducing obesity and obesity-related diseases, as well as an infringement of civil liberties and an attack on businesses in New York City.

Judging from the title of David Freedman’s “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” published in The Atlantic, Freeman's audience, the upper middle class of America, conjures up an image of a crazy Freedman throwing away every piece of scientific data that shows junk food is hazardous to your health. However, this is not the case. Freedman brings to light a more compromising approach to solving America’s obesity problem. His opinion is that by manufacturing healthier fast food we can solve America’s obesity issue and that his method would be able to be established nation-wide in a cheaper, fast and more effortless way than some other methods proposed. Not all, but the majority of The Atlantic’s audience cares about

In New York City the mayor is trying to ban sugary sodas to decrease the amount of obesity. Two-thirds of adults in New York are overweight, 40% of elementary and middle school students fight obesity. Is this because of the intake of sugary sodas or is it the lack of self control? "Liz Berman, the coalition's chairwoman" states "We are smart enough to make our own decision about what to eat and drink."

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) the health of the people in the United States has not always been the greatest. With an obesity rate of 33.9 percent, which translates into over 106 million obese Americans, this has caused many problems to arise and impact the daily lives of Americans. Many have tried to help in regards to this issue by improving school foods or attempting to encourage more physical activity. Unfortunately, these may have helped but only in a small scale. However, a fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Mark Bittman believes that he may have a definitive solution. On May 25, 2016, in “Taxing Sugar to Fund a City” New York Times food journalist, Mark Bittman, by using the taxing of sugary beverages in Philadelphia - America’s poorest big city - earnestly

From reading all five articles, the one I would have to agree with the most would be, “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home,” by Daniel Weintraub. Weintraub stated that if we are looking for someone to blame about our child obesity rate increasing in extreme amounts and our exercising rate decreasing, we should blame the guardians of the kids. To be more specific, if you have obese children, stop blaming them about their problem. Start to blame yourself. You are the cause to their problem by not teaching them that eating healthy is super important.

Sugary drinks and fast foods are constantly being consumed by Americans, causing an increase in health problems. Government regulation of what we eat and drink is fair because it will increase awareness of what individuals eat and can prevent higher rates of obesity. The article by Ryan Jaslow, "Sugary drinks over 16-ounces banned in New York City, Board of Health Votes" clearly supports the banning. However, “Should the Government Regulate What We Eat?" argues that the ban puts the American values of freedom at risk. Such regulations are necessary in order to maintain a healthy environment.

Snacks and sodas have been removed from vending machines and have been banned on school campuses because of the state legislature and school boards. A “fat tax” has been suggested for high calorie foods. Another possibility being considered is that restaurants will have to send in every item on their menu to a laboratory so that it can be tested for its nutritional value and then labeled on that restaurant’s menu. This takes away a person's personal responsibility for their own body and well-being and makes it the government’s responsibility. Balko states “your well-being, shape, and condition have increasingly been deemed matters of ‘public health’, instead of matters of personal responsibility.” It is becoming more and more common for states to prevent private health care providers from charging obese clients at higher rates which removes any financial reasoning behind being

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.

Who has not eaten junk food at least once? I did it, and to me, as to many Americans, the junk food is the most delicious type of food. However, I know it is the unhealthiest food and the main cause of obesity in the United States. On the other hand, the U.S. government feels that is important to intervene in junk food lover’s lives to help them to improve their health and their food choices. In order to combat the obesity and other health problems that junk food causes, the U.S. government has been looking for many ways to prevent and decrease the number of obese people in the country. They believe that adding taxes to the junk food is a great idea that might help people to

In today's society, fast food has become a large part of many American's lives. With the rising numbers of obese people, it is hard not to draw a correlation between the increase in fast food and obesity. Most obese people don’t want to be obese and wish they could lose weight, yet they continue to struggle with their fast food intake and obesity. This is due to the advertising done on the consumers, the highly addictive food itself, and most importantly, how advertising and addiction combine with children to form habits that are kept once they become adults. These factors are the reasons that fast food restaurants are to blame for the rising obesity and health risks across America. The government needs to step in and place regulations on

The Mayor took charge of the fight against numerous issues and implemented some of the strictest public health legislation in the world. Some of the more notable examples were his stances on smoking and obesity. Not only did Bloomberg make policies, which directly addressed the core cause of the issues, but also he succeeded in levying the blame and burden of these policies upon the industries that were ‘profiteering’ at the cost of the public’s health. Among the most significant of these policies were the efforts to tax sugary drinks and ban others in a move that stated that ‘the sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces — about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle — would be prohibited’ {NYT}. Evidently, this policy was aimed at reducing the runaway obesity rates that were being experienced in New York City. Additionally, the smoking ban in restaurants and in the work

Political activist Yves Engler’s article “Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations,” blames corporate capitalism for the obesity of children. Engler urges the government to put tighter limits on fast-food marketing not allowing them to reach the youth of America. Also Engler proposes that availability of junk food in the school system should decrease. Engler writes about how the government could help the obesity rate in children by creating more parks and funding physical education programs in public schools. Engler and Zinczenko both talk about the government’s ability to intervene in the fast-food industry, and both offer valid solutions. Engler talks about the

Should the government limit the size of sugary drinks? Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposes a law, in which to ban the size of sixteen ounces and decrease the amount of sugary drinks. Bloomberg’s reasoning for his proposal is, by decreasing the obesity rate in New York City, might help save some people's lives, and hopes to have other cities follow his step. I contemplate whether or not it will help the obesity rate as much as Bloomberg speculates. Banning the drinks size will not affect the obesity rate, Citizen have no freedom of right, and how can the ban help the U.S… Limiting the size of sugary drinks is a good thing, but it bad at the same time because citizen will receive less freedom before the proposal. I think it the consumer choice

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.

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.