Sean Oberschlake
Dr. Reno
Intro to Expository Writing 101
10/19/2012
The obesity epidemic is a huge issue in the United States of America right now. Although I have not personally dealt with obesity in my life, I have seen the way that it has affected friends and people around me. Obesity is not an issue of self-image but an image of the overall health of our nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese”. This percentage is growing every year. This percentage is also growing among children due to the fact that obesity can be passed down from mother to child by childbirth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese”. This cycle of adult obesity and the passing on to their kids will continue to increase both of these percentages over the years. These percentages differ from race to race and class to class. The people of the lower class are more likely to have obesity issues due to the fact that healthy food is expensive and time consuming and fast food and processed food is cheap and fast. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the minorities have higher obesity rates then the majority, “Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (49.5%) compared with Mexican Americans (40.4%), all Hispanics (39.1%) and non-Hispanic whites (34.3%)” This statistics also deal with the class of each of these races since there are more minorities in poverty then whites.
What the government needs to do to help the percentages of obese people go down is pass a series of laws. The first law is a tax on unhealthy, fatty, sugary foods. This tax would make fast food, and other foods that are high in fat and sugars more expensive then healthy foods like vegetables, fruit, lean cuts of meat, and other healthy substitutes for fast food. Some people think that this would punish the responsible people who are not obese that wants to buy these unhealthy foods. I would argue that everyone, at least in The United States, needs to eat healthier and this would make the people who have less money buy healthy alternatives for food instead of fast food or food with a high fat percentage.
The second law would be a law that prohibits companies to even sells foods with a certain percentage in fat or sugars. Some people believe that we should not give our government this kind of power when it comes to limiting what we can and can’t eat. I would respond to this argument by pointing out the many foods on the market (Twinkies, Combos, etc...) that have no nutritional benefits to us and are extremely unhealthy to consume. If these items were not on the market people would have to choose healthier things to eat.
The last law that should be passed would make all restaurants, and fast food restaurants have the calories, percentages of fat and sugar, and serving size on every single item on their menus. The companies may complain that this would scare people away from their business, therefore, putting them out of business. I would respond that people will still eat their food but, the law would make people more aware of the amount of calories, fat and sugar they are eating at one sitting at a restaurant.
All of the laws would make the companies that are selling the unhealthy food, more inclined to create healthy options to sell. People may argue that the government would be punishing the people who are responsible enough to watch their own weight and the successful companies that produce the unhealthy food. I argue that it would give companies an opportunity to become even more successful by creating healthy foods. I would also argue that the laws would help the population of people who cannot afford healthy food/do not have the time for healthy food eat healthy. In conclusion these laws would help the percentage of obese people in The Untied States go down.
Dr. Reno
Intro to Expository Writing 101
10/19/2012
The obesity epidemic is a huge issue in the United States of America right now. Although I have not personally dealt with obesity in my life, I have seen the way that it has affected friends and people around me. Obesity is not an issue of self-image but an image of the overall health of our nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese”. This percentage is growing every year. This percentage is also growing among children due to the fact that obesity can be passed down from mother to child by childbirth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese”. This cycle of adult obesity and the passing on to their kids will continue to increase both of these percentages over the years. These percentages differ from race to race and class to class. The people of the lower class are more likely to have obesity issues due to the fact that healthy food is expensive and time consuming and fast food and processed food is cheap and fast. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the minorities have higher obesity rates then the majority, “Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (49.5%) compared with Mexican Americans (40.4%), all Hispanics (39.1%) and non-Hispanic whites (34.3%)” This statistics also deal with the class of each of these races since there are more minorities in poverty then whites.
What the government needs to do to help the percentages of obese people go down is pass a series of laws. The first law is a tax on unhealthy, fatty, sugary foods. This tax would make fast food, and other foods that are high in fat and sugars more expensive then healthy foods like vegetables, fruit, lean cuts of meat, and other healthy substitutes for fast food. Some people think that this would punish the responsible people who are not obese that wants to buy these unhealthy foods. I would argue that everyone, at least in The United States, needs to eat healthier and this would make the people who have less money buy healthy alternatives for food instead of fast food or food with a high fat percentage.
The second law would be a law that prohibits companies to even sells foods with a certain percentage in fat or sugars. Some people believe that we should not give our government this kind of power when it comes to limiting what we can and can’t eat. I would respond to this argument by pointing out the many foods on the market (Twinkies, Combos, etc...) that have no nutritional benefits to us and are extremely unhealthy to consume. If these items were not on the market people would have to choose healthier things to eat.
The last law that should be passed would make all restaurants, and fast food restaurants have the calories, percentages of fat and sugar, and serving size on every single item on their menus. The companies may complain that this would scare people away from their business, therefore, putting them out of business. I would respond that people will still eat their food but, the law would make people more aware of the amount of calories, fat and sugar they are eating at one sitting at a restaurant.
All of the laws would make the companies that are selling the unhealthy food, more inclined to create healthy options to sell. People may argue that the government would be punishing the people who are responsible enough to watch their own weight and the successful companies that produce the unhealthy food. I argue that it would give companies an opportunity to become even more successful by creating healthy foods. I would also argue that the laws would help the population of people who cannot afford healthy food/do not have the time for healthy food eat healthy. In conclusion these laws would help the percentage of obese people in The Untied States go down.