Everyone loves fast food, surgery desserts and indulging in sweet and salty snacks covered in chocolate. What people rarely think of is how unhealthy they may be eating and what they’re putting into their bodies. The consequences can be life threating if not taking the right procedures to maintain a healthy lifestyles. As we continue these unhealthy lifestyles they can be taken after by our children and their grandchildren. Children that continue in their parents footsteps or start these habits soon learn the finances as adults such as health costs. Radley Balko criticizes Americans in “What You Eat Is Your Business” for not taking their own responsibility regarding be overweight and how it’s become a public issue. He says the government is not …show more content…
He emphasizes private health insurance companies aren’t allowed to charge overweight clients because their state no longer allows it. He claims if these clients aren’t being charged for their consequence of bad habits then it does not provide any incentive for them. Many people can come to disagree or agree regarding how money is spent by the government. I believe that Balko is missing a key point regarding people and their health. Michelle Obama’s perspective from her position leading “Let Move!” campaign. The rise of obesity in America is on the rise unfortunately. “Obesity will cost the USA about $344 billion in medical-related expenses by 2018, eating up about 21% of health-care spending” (USA Today). The results affect our money and it is easy to blames obesity. Although I agree obesity is costing us money, in the long run it is one of many issues beyond obesity to be blamed for. People might object that their reason why not only adults but young children have more chances of being overweight and getting health issues in the future is because of their parents. Parents do not intentionally want to harm their children and they want the best for them. It is true that children look up to
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans overeat because of their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed, but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation, and putting a stop to it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised to help prevent American obesity.
Throughout the article, Balko uses unpleasant manners to convey a message to readers that what the government tries to do is wrong and the government should adjust to improve its system. Even though so many students find this article is untrue because they believe that decreasing the obesity rate is government’s job, but I believe that this paper is somewhat true because we have to cooperate with the government to make it work, otherwise, only government or only ourselves is not enough. Not only that, this article somehow evokes my sympathy with the writer, even though there are some points that I disagree
Then there is Balko, who I do agree on obese people should pay a higher premium because taxes payers should not reasonable for obese people eating habits.
Our families could do more to encourage their children to make changes in their lifestyle early on in their lives. You can see this in a child who is raised in a family that is not concerned about the eating habits that he is developing, by the time the he enters school it may already be too late. The child could enter depression as other kids make fun of him for not fitting in the “norm”. Then back at home the family may even encourage such eating behaviors to the child. Families spend lots of time being concerned about other health aspects of their kids, but fail to see that being obese can have very powerful emotional impacts on their children.
In his article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko emphasizes that we ought to be accountable with what we eat, and the government should not interfere with that. He declares that the state legislature and school boards are already banning snacks and soda at school campuses across the country to help out the “anti-obesity” measure. Radley claims that each individual’s health is becoming “public health” instead of it being their own problem. Balko also states, “We’re becoming less responsible for our own health, and more responsible for everyone else’s.” For instance, a couple of new laws have been passed for people to pay for others’ medicine. There is no incentive to eat right and healthy, if other people are paying for the doctor
Healthcare costs Canada upwards of 192 billion dollars per year(Flood). A fraction of that is a direct result of obesity, but the majority of healthcare costs are from non-preventable sources, whereas obesity is preventable and should not cost the taxpayers a single dollar to treat: “Obesity costs Canadians between $4.6 billion and $7.1 billion annually in healthcare and lost productivity”(Ogilvie). So not only does obesity cost actual currency, but it also lowers individual job productivity and employment rate(Ogilvie). Individuals that suffer from obesity are much more likely to become sick and are generally less efficient on the job than a healthy individual. And it is not only the individuals that suffer from the lost productivity, as the poor performance affects the overall efficiency of the Canadian workforce. An easily preventable chronic illness is sucking billions of dollars from other areas that would greatly benefit from funding; the implemented counteractive systems to prevent obesity would literally pay for
Richard Balko and Mary Maxfield discuss personal responsibility, and choices in one’s health in their essays “What You Eat Is Your Business,” and “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” respectively. Balko feels the government should not intervene in people’s food intake because it is an individual preference. Instead, Balko asserts that the government should foster a program to assist the American people to take on personal responsibility and ownership of their own health. Similarly, Maxfield paints the same picture that our culture now finds it immoral to eat what our body needs, therefore believing in the idea of eating less is healthier. Maxfield points out the multi-billion dollar campaign of corporations into advertising false hope into consumers by buying into eradication of fatness. Why has food have suddenly become a risky subject at the dinner table? And who is to blame? Is it everyone else or do we blame ourselves?
In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, by David Zinczenko and in “What You Eat is Your Business”, by Radley Balko both authors discuss and make their stance’s clear on their believed cause of obesity in America. On one hand, Zinczenko argues that it is not the consumers fault for putting themselves at risk of becoming obese or being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but that it is the fast-food companies fault. While on the other hand, Balko argues that we as individuals hold responsibility on whether or not we are putting ourselves at risk for obesity.
Beside on that, Balko argues with the government recommendation of health care systems, and it is willing to pay for citizens’ medication due to poor eating and living habits. He says, “Your heart attack drives up the cost of my premiums and office visits” (467). How it is possible to make offers for people instead of fighting companies that sell unhealthy food. He also points out, “For decades now, America 's health care system has been migrating towards socialism” (467). His point is that if the government would start to put lows to these companies in order to stop their widespread. As a result, the government needs to address this problem by providing health care systems, and this requires citizens to pay for it. I believe it is true that government might make a billion of dollars from health care systems as profits. On the other hand, government does not do anything for the companies that provide unhealthy food or food that has more than the average amount of calories so the government truly allows these companies to spread out their products, and citizens are
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
Should people be held accountable for what they eat? Many believe that it is a matter of public health, but some think that it is the matter of personal responsibility. In the article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko argues that the government spending more money on anti-obesity measures is the wrong way to fix the obesity epidemic. He claims that people should be more responsible for their personal health. I am of two minds about this author’s claim that eating and lifestyle are matters of personal choice. On the one hand, I agree with his claim because of the unfair insurance policies, people should be more responsible for their own health, and people should take the time to be responsible for their kid’s health instead of blaming someone or something irrelevant. On the other hand, the government should do their best to dispose of “food deserts,” provide more opportunities to live a healthy life style, and give tax breaks to people selling healthy foods.
Balko’s use of informative statistics makes the reader think about government’s role with obesity, and how much they should to do with it being solved. For example, President Bush put $200 million into his budget for anti-obesity measures, and some Senators, including Joe Lieberman, made the call for a “fat-tax” on high calorie foods. Although it appears these politicians and government officials are all trying to help society and this growing problem in America, many would agree they are just hurting the cause. I remember when I
Ever since the creation of the golden arches, America has been suffering with one single problem, obesity. Obesity in America is getting worse, for nearly two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight. This obesity epidemic has become a normal since no one practices any type of active lifestyle. Of course this is a major problem and many wish it wasn 't in existence, but then we start to ask a major question. Who do we blame? There are two articles that discuss numerous sides of this question in their own unique way. “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko is better than “Don 't Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko due to its position in argument, opposition, and it’s reoccurrence in evidence.
Let us say a parent is doing everything possible to ensure his or her child is living a healthy lifestyle, but still the child faces problems with obesity. Why should the parent be held accountable? Especially if there are genetic factors involved in the cause of the child’s obesity. The article in Oxford Journals also states, “Heritability estimates for obesity are high…” (Genetics…). Some children cannot control the fact that they are obese. Even if the child is involved in physical activity and eats healthy, the child cannot control his or her genetic makeup. In this case, the child becoming obese was already determined before he or she was born. Obesity is associated with several health risks such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pulmonary diseases, and certain forms of cancer (Genetics…). Most parents would choose to have a genetically healthy child than a child that has to suffer with the negative effects obesity will cause throughout the child’s life. What parent would voluntarily want to see his or her child
The government must have a say in our diets. Because the issues of obesity have already reached national scales, because the costs of obesity and related health issues have gone far beyond reasonable limits, and because fighting nutritional issues is impossible without fighting poverty and other social issues, the government should control the range and the amount of available foods. The cost of healthier foods should decrease. The access to harmful foods should be limited. In this way, the government will be able to initiate a major shift in nutritional behaviors and attitudes in society.