What is the Government doing about Obesity?

What is The Government Doing? I find it so crazy that the United States is number one in the world in obesity! In 2001, there was a percentage of 61% obesity among adults. Although there were many administrations that declared to deal with the obesity problem, the percentage rose to 68%. There was obviously not enough being done by these administrations according to the Surgeon General’s “Call to Action to prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity”(Novak). Is the Federal Government doing anything to stop it? Why is Obesity such a big issue in the United States? I know there is many people that are obese but why is it that the United States is considered number one in the world? To answer that, I did some research on things that are being done to solve this problem. I found out that our first lady Michelle Obama had a program called the Let’s Move Campaign to Tackle child obesity, which did become very famous, and many people know about it, but perhaps they weren’t efficient; I no longer hear about it, I wonder if people still know about it? The government did implement many policies and programs such as labeling on packaged foods and labeling on restaurant menus. (Novak) These efforts may be positive and effective, but are they enough? Obesity is causing many people to become very sick and for people to have diabetes, which to me is a big deal as many people in my family suffer from diabetes. Diabetes is a life changing sickness, which I have seen and have dealt with first hand with my grandma. I know it is different when you get it as an elder, but I can only imagine getting it when you are still young. I also have an aunt and cousin that suffer from obesity, and they don 't do anything about it. They continue to eat the same and aren 't doing any kind of exercise. This really hurts me, and perhaps some kind of legal action should be done to change these peoples lifestyle. There are many disagreements on whether or not the government should do something. Some argue that It is up to the person whether or not they care for their health enough to do something for their own good. Others argue that yes, the government should do something about this problem. Should the Federal Government change its approach to the obesity problem in the United States? Food stamp programs can be one reason why there is an obesity problem in the United States. I was reading Laura Vaderkam’s article on Food Stamp programs causing obesity, and she had many good points. I believe this source is credible because Laura is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors. The Government disperses this money for food once a month. When that money goes out to these people, it is not a lot of money, at least in my opinion. According to Laura, because the government gives the food stamps out once a month, shoppers tend to spend all the money on one shopping trip. This leads them to purchasing more junk food and that leading to “binge-starvation” since they don’t save the food stamps for other shopping trips throughout that month. I’m not sure if this in reality goes on, perhaps some people do save their money for later grocery trips. Maybe people would want to try to save this money as much as they can and buy only what is necessary. Maybe some do and some don’t. I do know that there are many people in the United States that are receiving food stamps but also have enough money to go grocery shopping. These people are the ones that may use this money to buy junk food. I don 't know if this is the government’s fault, although they should know whom they are giving this money out to. I think the government needs to check more for fraudulent people so that they are not using food stamps if it isn 't necessary. The people that have the food stamps I think should really need it to eat to survive, and I can see that those people may use the money wisely and buy the food necessary for them to eat to survive. Just like the way social security is hard to receive, Food Stamps should be as difficult to receive. The people that receive money from social security need the money and they are investigated very thoroughly. I know this personally because my mother is currently trying to receive money from social security because she had brain surgery and currently cannot work. Michele Ver Ploeg, and Katherine Ralston, economist with the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service wrote an article that is the complete opposite of Laura’s called “Food Stamp Programs Do Not Cause Obesity”. I believe this article is credible because their work focuses on obesity and food assistance programs and they are economist. Michele and Katherine say that critics believe that “giving assistance in the form of benefits redeemable for food, instead of cash, has led participants to spend more on food and eat more than they would have otherwise.”(Ploeg,) I see how this can show Food Stamp programs to cause obesity. This may or may not be true; I don 't know what to believe. Michele and Katherine believe there is no clear evidence that Food Stamps cause obesity and Laura believes Foods Stamps causes obesity. One thing I noticed when thinking about food stamps is that at least with food stamps people are eating at home rather than eating out at restaurants. Is eating at home healthier than eating out all the time. Is eating at restaurants causing Americans to gain weight? Well, of course there are always fattening foods at restaurants, but there are also healthy foods. Mostly all restaurants have salads and healthy foods. Eating at home may be unhealthy as well; certain people may eat fattening foods at home. I guess it depends what you eat. People in the United States have such busy lives, but is that a reason to eat unhealthy? As a college student I myself have a busy life, and I eat out all the time, but is that a reason why I should eat fattening foods? Working and going to school has me so busy that I don 't even eat at home as much as I should. I was reading an article about eating out versus eating at home by a chef Dave Fouts and also the world’s premier culinary expert for weight loss surgery patients Vicki Bovee. I thought this was a credible source because Dave and Vicki work with people that are trying to lose weight, so they know all about obesity and what people are going through. People may go out to eat for comfort of not having to cook their own food. Not having time to cook makes me think, if you don 't have time to cook, then how do you have time to wait at a restaurant for them to cook your food? “When all is said and done you must take responsibility for your own health and wellness. Restaurants provide a great service, but in the end, you need to make decisions based on where you are in your weight management goals.”(Fouts). On the other hand, there are those people that spend too much time at home, and spend their day eating and sitting around. Is staying home causing obesity? Working out obviously is very necessary for a person who wants to lose weight. I don’t think it’s only to lose weight but also to be healthy and prevent obesity. Even simply walking can be good. Watching TV is okay but only for a little while. I see many people spending hours and hours watching TV and not getting enough physical activity in their day. I know it may be hard for some people to find something to do. One thing I think the government should consider doing is coming up with more things for people to do in their community. I know things like the YMCA exist in many communities and that is definitely something that people turn to and can participate in. Gyms are also a part of a community and somewhere that people can go to get out of the house. I even see parks as a place where people can go. I just feel like there should be more things to do rather then restaurants around. Staying home and eating and watching TV I believe should not be something people should do regularly. I stumbled upon an article that speaks of Reality TV promoting a Positive Body Image. The name of this article is Reality TC Can Promote a Positive Body Image. Of course, there are so many shows that focus on losing weight and preventing obesity, but rather then actually doing something; the people are sitting watching the shows. I do see how the shows can be inspiring, but I also know people can become addicted to shows and only want to watch these shows. This article is mostly about a show called “Shaq’s Big Challenge” in which there are six dangerously obese kids in middle school, and Shaq puts together a team and helps these kids lose the weight and he shows them how to have a healthier lifestyle. I do see how this show can inspire people to go out and do the same, but the show may also just be a show people like to watch. I cannot decide whether or not the government is at fault when it comes to Obesity. I do think they need to have more activities in communities for kids and even adults to participate in. This sounds absurd, maybe the government should limit the amount of time people spend watching TV, also the amount of junk food a person eats. There really is no clear way to do this, the government cannot monitor every person, but there has to be a way. Maybe it is not the government’s fault but maybe they can change their approach to solving this problem, or at least try harder.

Works Cited
Bay, Willow. "Reality TV Can Promote a Positive Body Image." Reality TV. Ed. Ronnie D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.
Berman, Richard. "A Lack of Physical Activity Causes Obesity." Food. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Sloth, Not Ads, Is Responsible for Fat Kids." Advertising Age 76 (18 Apr. 2005): 30. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.
Fouts, Dave and Bovee, Vicki: “Eating Out vs. Eating at Home” Obesity Action Coalation
Novak, Nicole L. , and Kelly D. Brownell. "Role of policy and government in the obesity epidemic." Circulation. 126.19 (2012): 2345-2352. Print.
Ploeg, Michele Ver, and Katherine Ralston. "Food Stamp Programs Do Not Cause Obesity." Nutrition. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Food Stamps and Obesity: What We Know and What It Means." Amber Waves 6.3 (June 2008). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.
Vanderkam, Laura. "Food Stamp Programs Cause Obesity." Nutrition. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Do Food Stamps Feed Obesity?" USA Today 20 Apr. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.

Cited: Bay, Willow. "Reality TV Can Promote a Positive Body Image." Reality TV. Ed. Ronnie D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. Berman, Richard. "A Lack of Physical Activity Causes Obesity." Food. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Sloth, Not Ads, Is Responsible for Fat Kids." Advertising Age 76 (18 Apr. 2005): 30. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. Fouts, Dave and Bovee, Vicki: “Eating Out vs. Eating at Home” Obesity Action Coalation Novak, Nicole L. , and Kelly D. Brownell. "Role of policy and government in the obesity epidemic." Circulation. 126.19 (2012): 2345-2352. Print. Ploeg, Michele Ver, and Katherine Ralston. "Food Stamp Programs Do Not Cause Obesity." Nutrition. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Food Stamps and Obesity: What We Know and What It Means." Amber Waves 6.3 (June 2008). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. Vanderkam, Laura. "Food Stamp Programs Cause Obesity." Nutrition. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Do Food Stamps Feed Obesity?" USA Today 20 Apr. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.