Obesity Vs Government Control Essay

Government Control to Lower Obesity Should the government support and challenge people to watch their diet? It would be a good idea for the government to put rules on food because it would let people know what they are eating, it would decrease the percentage of obesity, and it would decrease health risks. This would show that the government cares about the health we can have. Plus give people more knowledge of what we don’t know about foods. To begin, restaurants don’t let people know what is in their food. The government should give people the ability to know what they are eating. One way would be by putting calorie counts on the food they eat. This would alert people of what they are eating. The government stated that, “restaurants will be required to display calorie information for standard menu items…” (Rosenbloom) would help everyone see what he or she is eating. Not only would the menus have calorie counts, but also food items in vending machines would be labeled. Therefore, “anybody tempted by a king-size Snickers bar will know up front that it packs 440 calories” (Rosenbloom). This implies that whatever is bought, would give the person an idea of the calories they are putting in their body. In addition, with the challenge on the diet, the percentage of obese graduates would
probably decrease. With the government control it would decrease the percentage of obese graduates at every education level. For example a graph shows that 30.3% of obese high school students are graduating (“Education Level and Obesity”). With the assistance of eating healthier, it would help the graduate percentage of obese students decrease. The percentage is also immense for obese students graduating college. Likewise, the graph shows that 22.2 % of adults graduating college are obese (“Education Level of Obesity”). The percentage is minimal, but with the government supporting healthier eating diets, the percentage would continue to decrease. Lastly, in order for a decrease in health risks, the government was willing to push for bans across different areas.
The first decision made was banning large sizes over 16 ounces. From now on, “All restaurants and cafeterias no longer have a standard serving size soda typically 20 ounces” (Park). This would help customers to elect a more healthier option by getting smaller portions instead. Not only are large size sodas getting banned, but trans fat foods from restaurants are also getting banned. In fact, they started doing it in New York, “the first city to require chain restaurants… to ban trans fats…” (Park). With this decision, there would be a decrease in
obesity. The government should be able to challenge restaurants and food companies. This would help people acknowledge what they are eating in calories, obesity would decrease in graduates, and the health risks would decrease. With the help of the government, everyone would have an idea on what is healthy and unhealthy. The government is supported because it shows that they care about everyone’s health.