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JeffreyMoscoso
English113A
September28,2015
ProfessorAltman
ObesityCausingProblemInOurSociety
Haveyoueveraskyourselfwhoshouldweblameforobesity?Obesitycan
proceedtomanyserioushealthconditions,suchas,highbloodpressure,high
cholesterol,stroke,etc.Obesityisabigtopicbecausepeoplearguethatfastfood
companiesshouldbetheonestoblame,whileothersaysthattheconsumersshouldbe
theonestoblame.Matterfact,whodoyouthinkweshouldblame?Obesityisabig
probleminAmericabecauseiscausingthegovernmenttogetridofobesity,itinduce
healthissue,andfastfoodrestaurantsisleadingtoobesity.
Obesityisproducingthegovernmenttodovarietyofpoliciessothattheycan
decreasetheamountofpercentageofobesityintheUnitedStates.Accordingtothe
article,WhatYouEatIsYourBusinessbyRadleyBalko,itsays,
...allagitatingfora
panoplyofgovernmentantiobesityinitiatives,includingprohibitingjunkfoodinschool
vendingmachines,federalfundingfornewbiketrailsandsidewalks,moredemanding
labelsonfoodstuffs,restrictivefoodmarketingtochildren....Thisquotemeansthatthe
governmentwantstoincludeallthesekindsofpoliciestogetridofobesity.Its
importantbecauseobesityisleadingthegovernmenttodocertainnormstohelppeople
withobesityproblemsandthegovernmentwantstostopobesityfromextendinginthe
nexttenyears.Iagreewiththegovernmentregulationbecauseweknowthatobesity

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causeshealthissuesanditsjustifiedthatthegovernmentisthinkingaboutthefutureto
stopobesityfromadvancing.
Weknowforthefactthatobesitycanleadhealthissue.Accordingtothearticle,
DontBlametheEaterbyDavidZinczenko,itsays,Before1994,diabetesinchildren
wasgenerallycausedbyageneticdisorderonlyabout5percentofchildhoodcases
wereobesityrelated,orType2,diabetes.Today,accordingtotheNationalInstitutesof
Health,Type2diabetesaccountsforatleast30percentofallnewchildhoodcasesof
diabetesinthiscountry.Thisquoteistryingtotellusthatwhentimeispassing,the
percentageofhealthissuesisincreasing.Wecancomparein1994andintodaysyear,
it'sareallyhighnumberthatdiabetesiscausingtochildren.Thisisreallyimportant
becauseobesityisleadingtodiabetesandwecanseethestatisticsfromtheNational
InstitutesofHealththatdiabetesisleadingtoahighpercentage,especiallyforkids.
Also,inthesamearticleitsays,Notsurprisingly,moneyspenttotreatdiabeteshas
skyrocketed,too.TheCentersforDiseaseControlandPreventionestimatethat
diabetesaccountedfor$2.6billioninhealthcarecostsin1969.Today'snumberisan
unbelievable$100billionayear.Wecanseethatdiabetesisalsocostingmoney.$100
billionayearitsagiganticamountofmoneytobespendingindiabetes.Thisis
importantbecausewithallthismoney,theremustbeawaytoreduceobesitybecause
withthatmoney,thegovernmentcanannexhospitals,schools,andetc.
Inaddition,fastfoodrestaurantsareleadingtoobesity,obesityisleadingto
problemsinourlife.Accordingtothearticle,DontBlametheEaterbyDavid
Zinczenkoitsays,
Fastfoodcompaniesaremarketingtochildrenaproductwith

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provenhealthhazardsandnowarninglabels.Theywoulddowelltoprotect
themselves,andtheircustomers,byprovidingthenutritioninformationpeopleneedto
makeinformedchoicesabouttheirproducts.Withoutsuchwarnings,we'llseemore
sick,obesechildrenandmoreangry,litigiousparents.Theauthoristryingtotellusthat
thefastfoodrestaurantsaretheonestoblamebecausetheydontofficiallyprovidethe
correctnutritioninformation.Alsotheauthordeclares,Forexample,onecompany's
Websitelistsitschickensaladascontaining150caloriesthealmondsandnoodles
thatcomewithit(anadditional190calories)arelistedseparately.Addaservingofthe
280caloriedressing,andyou'vegotahealthylunchalternativethatcomesinat620
calories..Readthesmallprintonthebackofthedressingpacketandyou'llrealizeit
actuallycontains2.5servings...you'resuddenlyuparound1,040calories..Thismeans
thatfastfoodrestaurantsprovidesfalseinformationbecauseaccordingtothelistofone
companyswebsite,itsaysatotalamountofcaloriesforeachfood,meanwhilewhen
youreadonthesmallprintonthebackofthedressingpacketitsaysdifferent.Thisis
importantbecauseallfoodshouldhavethecorrectamountofinformationandshould
havemorelabelsonfoodstuffs.Whileyoueating,youmaysayimeatingtheproper
caloriesthatIsupposeto,butinrealityyoureeatingthedoubleofthecaloriesthatthe
labelssays.
Thegovernmentshouldbeinvolvedwithregulatingfastfood.Accordingtothe
article,WhatYouEatIsYourBusinessbyRadleyBalko,itsays,Congressisnow
consideringmenulabelinglegislation,whichwouldforcerestaurantstosendevery
menuitemtothelaboratoryfornutritionaltesting.Withthesenorm,thiswillhelp

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consumerstoseethefoodlabelsandthismaydecreaseobesity.However,Radley
Balkosays,Thisisthewrongwaytofightobesity.Insteadofmanipulatingor
interveninginthearrayoffoodoptionsavailabletoAmericanconsumers,our
governmentoughttobeworkingtofosterasenseofresponsibilityinandownershipof
ourownhealthandwellbeing.Isupportthisquotebecausewecantblamethe
fastfoodrestaurantsfortheobesity,matterinfact,weareresponsibleforourown.
Eatingtoomuchjunkfoodcanleadyoutoserioushealthconditions.Butyet,youhave
torealizethattheyarehealthyfoodorrealfoodtoeat.Ifwemakeourdecisiontotake
careofourownhealthandknowwhatweeating,wemaypossiblydecreasethe
percentageofobesityinAmericainthenextfewyears.
Lastly,obesityisanextremelydilemmainourcountrybecausepeoplewith
obesityissuearemostlikelytoobtainpoorhealthconditions.Thegovernmentistrying
todotheirbesttohelppeoplewithobesityproblemsandstopfromincreasing.
PoliticianssuchasHillaryClinton,BarackObama,andGeorgeBushareplanningto
convertthiscountryintoahealthysociety.Wecanmakeourcountryintoahealthy
societyifwestartbeingcautionbasedonwhatweareconsumingandbeinvolvingin
sportsorexercisingforatleastthirtyminutes.Thismayhelpustodeclinetheobesityin
America.