Critical Analysis Essay “Food Cops on the Prowl” Obesity is one of the most serious problems of the childhood in the present. There are a lot of reasons to lead the obesity in young people. The article “Food Cops on the Prowl” pointed out the marketing of food companies is one of the important causes of childhood obesity. According to Pierce Hollingsworth (2004), there was so many causes lead to childhood obesity, not only the food marketing. He showed some causes of childhood obesity, and he thought that people should care more about the other causes.
If the blame is to be pointed at someone it would have to be the consumer. One reason is that people are not forced to eat these foods. They do not point a gun to our head and demand we eat a half pound burger, a bucket of fries, and a big soda enough to last a whole day. They know it is bad just do not want to make their own food, so they blame companies. Another reason is we have a choice on what we eat on a daily bases.
However, does eating unhealthy food cause obesity or does obesity cause one to eat unhealthy food (Marlow, 2013)? 2. Describe the different viewpoints within the dilemma. Explain why each creates questions that must be answered. Those in favor of taxing unhealthy foods believe that those foods are the cause of obesity, taxing would be an effective intervention that would reduce consumption of unhealthy foods, and taxing would create revenue to fund programs focused on combatting obesity.
Daniel Weintraub, in his article, "The battle against fast food begins in the home", states that parents are to blame for childhood obesity. The essence of Weintraub's argument is that it is the parents responsibility not the government, nor are the fast food companies bound to teach kids how to eat healthy and how to say active. He also mentioned results of statistics made on social economic status and gender, which shows that more kids are overweight due to fast food restaurants, supersizing and lack of exercise. Weintraub refutes these findings by emphasizing how parents are responsible for what their kids eat. As a result, his own recommendations include: limiting the consumption of sodas, junk food as well as avoiding a sedentary lifestyle.
He discusses how benefits for the physically fit have been banned from insurance policies. He gets a little extreme when he refers to the tax policies that are in effect for Americans, when he says, “If my neighbor’s heart attack shows up on my tax bill, I’m more likely to support state regulation on what he eats.” With sarcasm, he refers to regulating what McDonald’s can put on their in their food. I
Imposing higher taxes on junk food will not encourage healthy eating. Taxes don’t stop people from buying things that satisfy them. By restricting dietary choices Americans will not suddenly know the difference between junk food and health food. The government cannot appropriately regulate and restrict improper consumption in people’s homes; they need to keep their hands out of Americans pockets and start fighting obesity through educating adults and their children on proper nutritional routines. Imposing a junk food tax draws attention to one of the most imperative questions which is how to define foods as unhealthy.
Blaming Fast Food Restaurants for Obesity Let’s face it; everyone loves a Whopper every now and then. Yet we are all aware that one too many can bring on dangerous and life-threatening results. Obesity is a growing problem in the United States and more and more children are being affected. But do uneducated families have the right to put the blame on fast food restaurants for their health issues they could have easily prevented? I believe that we are taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity and that it is an individual’s responsibility to take the blame.
People say that it is Mcdonalds fault for them gaining weight, but what they don’t understand is that they have the choice wether they should eat it or not, or even how much they eat. They have control over wether they should go and pick out a nice healthy salad or go to a fast food restaurant such as Mcdonalds and get fatty food there that is super-sized, and get french fries that are all salty. So I say it is not Mcdonalds fault for people becoming obese and overweight all over the country! it is their own fault that they are gaining this much weight in such little time. Mcdonalds is a very popular restaurant where they advertise food all over the place on billboards in stores, on the
| Evidence | The government has given us the choice to eat what we want but we tend not to eat healthier but only junk food. The federal School was issued a new, healthier lunch dietary guideline. First lady Michelle Obama helps students from Washington with eating healthier in the schools. “Marion Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor in the in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. Billions of dollars in advertising messages, food sold everywhere-in gas stations, vending machines, libraries and stores that sell clothing, books, office supplies, cosmetics and drugs-and huge portions of food at bargain prices (Par 7).” | Explanation (how it supports your argument) | If they wouldn’t sell junk food everywhere people go.
So corrupt in fact that even as it is seemingly doing the right thing, like promoting healthy foods to be served in schools for example, its wellness initiatives are frequently just marketing ploys. They are always trying to sell us something. Producers of high-selling, major market junk foods have an obligation to their company’s stockholders to maximize profits to the best of their abilities. So they encourage consumers to eat more of their company’s products, not less. Americans are unhealthy and the food industry is doing nothing to change that.