The Struggles of an Obese Nation
The Struggles of an Obese Nation.
America has been facing a dilemma for quite awhile. Government policy makers, nutrition activists, media, food companies, and people in general have all been trying to figure out what best way of eating healthy truly is. The United States of America famously tops the chart in North America for having the greatest number of obese people. Statistics indicate that approximately 33% of its population falls into the obese category. The increase in numbers of obese people over the years is ringing alarm bells across the nation.
Various articles and opinions have been voiced on how best to control and also eradicate the endemic problem of obesity. In his article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko purports that people should not be blamed entirely because they have not been given much of a choice in choosing what to eat. Fast foods are made easily available, and are presented as a cheap alternative to healthier food options. Zinczenko further emphasizes that, it is not only the lack of alternatives but also the lack of information about the food the general public is consuming.
He takes out his anger on large food corporations and subtly seems to imply their evil intent by not providing any food labeling, which indicates nutritional value or calorie intake. At the same time, he also seems to contradict himself when he states “What happened to personal responsibility?” (462). He gives his own example of how as a child he had no choice but to eat out in fast foods restaurants and they way he took responsibility and worked towards his recovery from being obese to being healthy.
He also laments that prepared food is not covered by the food and drug administration labeling laws. Zinczenko asserts that it is the food companies to blame. He draws our attention to statistics indicating that before 1994 diabetes among children was due to genetic disorder, and that only 5% of cases were obesity related. He reports, that according to the National Institute of Health, at least 30% of children with diabetes is obesity related and that the money being spent on health care has sky rocketed from $ 2.6 billion to a staggering $100 billion.
Zinczenko further urges the government to see how food corporations spend huge amounts of money on advertising to attract people, especially the younger generation, to dine with them. He argues that this advertising strategy to increases patronage is directly increasing the government’s own health care costs in dealing with citizens who become obese. Zinczenko advocates that measures should be implemented on informing the people, and that these corporations should provide the nutrition information by labeling their products protecting themselves and their customers as well. He warns that by not doing so, we will find more sick and obese children with angry litigious parents on the rise.
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