I beleive there should be some restrictions on fast food just as there are some for tobacco. Smoking is unhealthy and has been proven to cause many diseases, however, with the rising percentage of obese kids, obesity needs to be taken just as seriously as smoking. The percentage of our generation that is obese will hurt America in the long run. Obesity in the workforce causes employers to pay more for health care as obese people tend to be less efficient and miss more days of work. An idea that I thought would be a possibility would be to have an age requirement to eat fast food (Yes, imagine getting carded at a drive-thru). Obesity is really a huge problem for America and really needs to be adressed immediately. Our generation will be much less efficient if the percentage keeps growing. Another, more reasonable, option would be to tax fast food heavily just as cigarettes are. New York has just recently banned trans fats from restaurants which is certainly a first step in the right direction.
-Alex Osborne
4 comments:
But what about all the lower class laborers that don't have the time or money to have a proper meal. If a construction worker has a 30 minute lunch break and only has 5 dollars in his wallet, he does not have much of an alternative then to head to the nearest mcdonalds. These kind of lower income workers do not have any other options at this point, and by heavily taxing fast food you are then taking away their only food source. This reminds me of one of the discussions we had in class about the rising costs of organic foods. If we want to attempt to solve the obesity problem in America, a possible step we should take is to reduce the prices of healthy organic foods and increase the prices of unhealthy junk food. We must realize that a lot of people are becoming obese not because they are lazy but simply because they have no choice but to choose the cheapest food they can find.
"a possible step we should take is to reduce the prices of healthy organic foods and increase the prices of unhealthy junk food"
you are contradicting what you said in the beginning of your paragraph. also, if they are able to get to mcdonald's, chances are they are able to make it to a grocery store. i don't know if you have noticed but mcdonalds is no longer extremely cheap. for a working man, who probably eats a lot he would spend at least $5-8. In a grocery store you could buy a much healthier meal for that price. It is just a matter of education in terms of them realizing how unhealthy it is and also that they break the habit and maybe accept a lower calorie lunch that isnt as tasty as fries
Food suppliers like McDonald’s and Garden Catering are contaminating the bodies of many Americans. At school, even though sales raise money for clubs and other extra curricular organizations, the goods that they sell are dangerous to the health of their fellow students. It is wrong that clubs are able to sell such garbage. In looking outside our school, obesity and unhealthy eating is definitely a problem. Many people like Adam said eat fast food out of convenience; it is cheap and easy to obtain. The solution that I have come up with has two parts. First, an increase in warning labels on unhealthy food will help spread awareness of the dangers of eating this food. Second, an adjustment to health insurance policies would help solve the problem. If someone is a certain weight or eats a certain unhealthy way then their insurance plan will be more expensive. On the other hand, if someone exercises regularly and eats well then they will have a cheaper insurance policy. In the long run, however, people have a choice in their eating habits. It is unconstitutional for the government to regulate a market like fast food. I believe my two solutions, education and monetary incentives will go a long way in solving the eating problems of our nation.
Yes I too believe it is completely uncostitutional for take away or tax certain foods or other foods. the government can' tell you what to eat or not eat even if it is proven bad for you. if any taxing does occur it should be placed on the establishment itself not on the American worker. Of course Mcdonalds is horrible but you can't legislate your own lifestyle
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