Cause For Change: Governent.

People eating is not an issue. The issue is what they eat and how much they eat—in their case, fast food. The effect of eating a lot of fast food is obesity. There is an irony in this situation: “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder; only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2 diabetes” (Zinczenko, 2002, p. 392). Now the question remains: if studies on obesity were done and the effects were known, why wasn’t it taken seriously, and why did the causes become the only option available? "Grew up as a typical mid-1980s latchkey kid. My parents were split up. Lunch and dinner were, for me, a daily choice between McDonald's, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or Pizza Hut. Should the obesity epidemic be a government or personal responsibility? Then and now were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal. By age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot frame” (Zinczenko, 2002, pp. 391-392).

The effects of fast food and obesity were and still are an issue. This could be seen when it turned a person who, after an unknown number of years, was able to gain “212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 frame” (Zinczenko, 2002, p. 392). As they say, too much of a good thing is not good. The same goes for fast food. However, this saying can also be used in relation to the cost of fast food and its effects on the body. “Not surprisingly, money spent to treat diabetes has skyrocketed, too. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that diabetes accounted for $2.6 billion in healthcare costs in 1969” (Zinczenko, 2002, p. 392).

Why do we pay taxes? Why pay taxes to the government? This was done to make the community and those who live in it comfortable. If we pay taxes to make the community and those who live in it comfortable, why aren’t the health and well-being of the individual related to what they eat taken as a priority? This could be heard from the statement: “Federal funding for new bike trails and sidewalks, more demanding labels for foodstuffs made for children, and prodding the food industry into more “responsible” behavior. In other words, it brings government between you and your waistline" (Balko, 2004, pp. 395-396). It was not taken as a priority by related authorities in charge of health; these authorities are as follows: WHO, etc. While the issue of obesity was noticed, it wasn’t taken as a priority by the related authorities. The government in charge of these authorities still takes taxes.

To display anger towards the government for a lack of action, “The Magazine and ABC News will host a three-day summit on obesity” (Balko, 2004, p. 395). “ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, who last December anchored the prime-time special “How to Get Fat Without Really Trying,” will host. Judging by the scheduled program, the summit promises to be a pep rally for media, nutrition activists, and policymakers—all agitating for a panoply of government anti-obesity initiatives, including prohibiting junk food in school vending machines, federal funding for new bike trails and sidewalks, more demanding labels for foodstuffs made for children, and prodding the food industry into more “responsible” behavior. In other words, it brings government between you and your waistline” (Balko, 2004, pp. 395-396).

“This is the wrong way to fight obesity. Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government appears to be working to foster a sense of responsibility for and ownership of our own health and well-being. But we’re doing just the opposite” (Balko, 2004, p. 396). Although the government is trying to solve the problem, the solution found by the government was the initial cause of the issue. Obesity.

References:

Balko, R. (2004, May 23). What You Eat Is Your Business [Article].

Zinczenko, D. (2002, November 23). Don’t Blame the Eater [Article].