Obesity

Grace Glinecki

Ms. Zurkowski

Honors English 9 Purples

17 September 2012

Obesity:

Government Should Not Become Involved

            With the obesity number rising every day, who should be in charge to stop it? Obesity is considered having a BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 30. The rates are hitting an all-time high; some people think that the only way to stop obesity rates from rising is to get the government involved.  Parents and elders, not the government, should help to educate kids to prevent childhood obesity, society needs to stop exaggerating, and people need to understand that this issue cannot always be controlled. Obesity is a serious problem in America, more and more people are suffering from its effects, but involving the government into the solution will just hurt America more.

            One way to help the obesity rates, without involving the government is to have parents and elders educate children on good eating habits. Doing so would prevent childhood obesity from getting worse. George Ball agreeing with this controversy adds, “As parents, educators, nutritionists, and marketers, we have to imbue our children with the love of—and consumption of—the most beneficial food for growing bodies.” Adults are not setting a good example for kids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only 26% of adults get 3 or more servings of vegetables a day, including people who consider tomato or lettuce on a hamburger a serving (George Ball). Children can learn to like vegetables if their parents like them as well. But in order for children to eat well, parents have to supply kids with healthy foods. If permitted, children can grow their own vegetables. When children grow their own vegetables, they are more inclined to want to eat them. George Ball also added on the topic, “We cannot expect children to make the right food choices when healthy foods are out of reach and nutrition-smart role models are not in evidence.” Parents and elders, not the government, need to step up and help prevent childhood; after all, children learn best by example.

            The government and a majority of the people in America are over exaggerating obesity.  Paul Campos states that “Obesity is used as a socially legitimate means for the rich, who are often thinner, to express their revulsion at the poor, who tend to be fatter” (Update: Obesity). Weight loss has also become a new industry, causing nutritionists to make money by promoting diets. So of course, the nutritionists want to say that obesity is horrific so people will come see them, then the nutritionists profit the most out of the process.  Also, people live longer, so they will eat more in a life time then people used too. When you are of an old age, you cannot get as much exercise as you were once able to, but you are still going to eat. Instead of burning off the calories, they stay and cause fat cells to grow bigger, making people to gain weight (Update: Obesity). Between Hollywood and models being super skinny, it is no surprise that people are obsessed with body image. But that’s one of the issues, people are too obsessed with image, causing people who are somewhat obese or overweight to have self-esteem issues and thinking they are bigger than they actually are. Being overweight does not necessarily mean that you are dangerously unhealthy; however, there is a fine line between being dangerously overweight and being okay. The government should not be involved in stopping obesity; instead, society needs to stop over exaggerating obesity to the extreme amounts.

            Another reason why the government shouldn’t be involved in controlling obesity, is some people cannot prevent becoming obese. “The physical explanation for weight gain is simple: more calories are consumed than burned by a body. As a result, the body stores the excess calories as fat. However, the exact reasons why some people become obese while others do not is not clear” (Obesity 2). One theory by Alice Park involves identical twins who eat and exercise the same amount, but one becomes obese while the other does not. These cases have led people look at a certain part of the body, the gut. Alice Park and other researchers believe that there may be bacteria in the gut that causes people to become obese (Obesity). Another theory is infants that are exposed to certain chemicals soon after birth can cause fat cells to form (Obesity). It may also be possible that each person as a designated weight that they are meant to be at, with a 30 pound variation (Obesity). A very simple answer is some people have faster metabolisms than others so they burn fat quicker. There are certain diseases that can cause people to gain weight, such as thyroid gland, growth hormone deficiency, or damage to the part of the brain that controls appetite. Certain medicines, like antidepressants, can cause weight gain. Disorders to the central nervous system or interaction of multiple genes can possibly make people become obese. If the government takes control of obesity, what happens to all of the people who cannot do anything about it?

            Some of the opinions for controlling obesity is to have the government take action. Some think that they should have laws requiring nutrition labels on fast food menus (Update: Obesity). The flaw with this idea is, just because they have labels, doesn’t necessarily mean people will read them or stop eating the food. Another idea among many is to have a tax on fating foods and soft drinks (Update: Obesity). This plan could work, but why tax everyone? The plan would also do a lot of harm to soft drink companies. BMI (Body Mass Index) testing at schools is another solution that the government would be involved. The problem with this is BMI testing is not always accurate because it does not consider muscle mass and if a child is slightly overweight, the tests could be bad for self-esteems.  Some people want the government to ban marketing kids in food advertisements.  Daniel Jeff, disagreeing with this statement, says that, “food advertising was going down at the same time that childhood obesity was jumping, dramatically, so placing the primary blame on advertising is overly simplistic” (Update: Obesity).  The government can try many different solutions to stop obesity, but none of these will work. People in America will not stop becoming obese until the person decides it is time, not the government.

            The solutions to stopping obesity is not as simple as burning more calories than you eat, there are a lot of other factors. Lots of people rely on dieting to lose weight. What most people don’t know about dieting is the success rate is only 3-5% (Obesity). Also up to 85% of people who diet who do not exercise daily will regain all of the weight they lost within 2 years (Obesity 2). One of the most common solutions people suggest to lose weight for obese people is to get surgery. There are many problems with getting surgery. Liposuction, a type of surgery where they remove fat, is not suggested for extremely obese people. Gastric bypass is surgery when they take a portion of the stomach and separate it into small pouches and reconnect it to the lower part of the small intestine to limit the amount of food absorbed by the body. Gastric bypass surgery is a very dangerous and hard way to lose weight. The stomach becomes so small that it can only hold a few ounces of food/liquid at a time, patients cannot drink liquids or eat within thirty minutes of each other, and overeating can cause extreme pain and nausea (Obesity). Good solutions for preventing obesity, within involving the government include: recognizing that obesity is a serious health problem, teach helpful eating habits (3 ounces of whole grain cereals, rice, or pasta; low-fat dairy, and low added sugars), create safe parks for children to play and get exercise, eat more homemade foods, and getting a motivation to lose weight (Preventing Overweight and Obesity). Solving obesity is not always as simple as it may seem, but good habits are an easy way to help prevent it, without the help of the government.

            Parents and elders could do more to prevent childhood obesity, exaggeration is causing obesity to seem worse than it really is and is making the government think that they have to be involved, and obesity is not always preventable. Allowing the government to control obesity is giving the government, “an excessive use of authority and an unwelcome intrusion into people’s personal lives, they charge, and opens up the door to government interference in all aspects of life” (Update: Obesity). The people should be able to control what they eat and how much they eat, not the government. The government becoming involved in controlling obesity is not the way to go, it will just cause more harm than good.

Works Cited

Ball, George. "2011: The Year of the Vegetable." Wall Street Journal. 03 Jan 2011: A.15. SIRS    Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Sep 2012.

"Obesity." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Sep. 2012.

"Obesity." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner.     4th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 11 Sep. 2012.

"Preventing Overweight and Obesity." Weight in America: Obesity, Eating Disorders, and Other             Health Risks. Barbara Wexler. 2010 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Information Plus Reference Series. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 12 Sep. 2012.

"Update: Obesity." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On        File News Services, 22 June 2007. Web. 8 Sept. 2012.

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