Summary: Fighting A War Within America
Fighting A War Within America
"The beauty is we don't need to be 100% of the way there. If we get 20% of the way there, we will change the health status of our kids for a generation.” These were Michelle Obama’s words assuring Americans that with government involvement, change is possible. According to the National Institute of Health, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Currently, nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight and 34% of those are obese. Furthermore, a recent article published by the Institute of Medicine has shown that our eating habits are greatly affected by our environment, and in order to reverse this crisis, all levels of society will need to make a change- especially our government. By origin, a government’s innate duty is to ensure the wellbeing of its people, which in this case certainly includes our health through our diets. Moreover, they have incredibly influential access (or even complete control) over critical aspects of our diet. The government’s power over our diets already feeds into schools, food subsidies, and infrastructure, so their influence must begin to feed us in a way that is beneficial. The federal …show more content…
Why is it Italians eat pasta all day long, smoke, drink wine, and not only are thin, but have a lower stress level, less heart disease, dementia, and Alzheimer's? They have plenty of parks, gardens, and sidewalks which give them not only the option to walk, but access to walk. The government should reduce impediments to physical activity, especially because they control what gets built and added. We need safe areas for physical activity that are accessible to all our citizens. The built environment can have a powerful effect on our behaviors which the government has the responsibility and ability to
"The beauty is we don't need to be 100% of the way there. If we get 20% of the way there, we will change the health status of our kids for a generation.” These were Michelle Obama’s words assuring Americans that with government involvement, change is possible. According to the National Institute of Health, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Currently, nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight and 34% of those are obese. Furthermore, a recent article published by the Institute of Medicine has shown that our eating habits are greatly affected by our environment, and in order to reverse this crisis, all levels of society will need to make a change- especially our government. By origin, a government’s innate duty is to ensure the wellbeing of its people, which in this case certainly includes our health through our diets. Moreover, they have incredibly influential access (or even complete control) over critical aspects of our diet. The government’s power over our diets already feeds into schools, food subsidies, and infrastructure, so their influence must begin to feed us in a way that is beneficial. The federal …show more content…
Why is it Italians eat pasta all day long, smoke, drink wine, and not only are thin, but have a lower stress level, less heart disease, dementia, and Alzheimer's? They have plenty of parks, gardens, and sidewalks which give them not only the option to walk, but access to walk. The government should reduce impediments to physical activity, especially because they control what gets built and added. We need safe areas for physical activity that are accessible to all our citizens. The built environment can have a powerful effect on our behaviors which the government has the responsibility and ability to