Should the Obesity Epidemic be a Governmental or Personal Responsibility?

Obesity has become a widespread issue across the US. Almost majority of the people in this country are overweight. Not only is it an epidemic within this country, but obesity rates are increasing across the world. The problem roots from people consuming too much food, not initiating enough physical movement and having easy accessibility to the wrong kinds of foods.

Many people are taking notice and changing their lifestyles. A generally healthy lifestyle consists of exercising daily, drinking plenty of water, eating only whole foods, and limiting snacking.

The government has also taken notice and took their own form of action. Some governments have adopted the concept of a "fat tax", where there would be extra tax added to foods that are unhealthy to prevent more people from buying it. Schools have tried to create meal plans that are more balancing and ban unhealthy snacks for kids.

The government can make several different changes, but people will still be obese.

So what does this say about issue of this epidemic?

I say, handling obesity is a personal responsibility.

The health of oneself should be a personal concern. Obesity is the result of our own choices after all. If we have control over our own bodies, shouldn't we be responsible to take care of it? Big companies like McDonald's and Burger King are in business and make a profit from selling unhealthy food. They don't care about their consumers' health. In addition, the government benefits from unhealthy people because pharmaceutical companies make more money that way. If we are not certain these big companies or the government can help us, it makes more sense to take accountability for our own bodies.

According to David Zinczenko's "Don't Blame the Eater", Zinczenko states, "They would do well to protect themselves, and their customers, by providing the nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products," (page 393). Although it would be nice to think that fast-food companies care about our well-being, they actually do not care. The government gives zero incentive for fast-food companies to provide healthier options. If they do set better regulations, it still won’t amount to much change. These big companies profit from making their fast food unhealthy and addictive.

The solution comes down to the population being able to control themselves and take responsibility for their health. Of course, their customers would benefit from having nutrition information on the products, but the company would suffer from a business standpoint. People shouldn't depend on a fast food company to get them in shape. It won't ever happen.

According to Radley Balko's "What You Eat is Your Business", Balko states, "“Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being,” (page 396). The government not only focuses on handling food options, but also protecting those who are already unhealthy, and that's a problem. Private health insurers are kept from charging higher prices to unhealthier people. The government helps and protects people who are unhealthy, so they don’t have any financial incentive to maintain a healthier lifestyle. People become less responsible for their own health. The well-being of oneself is now a “public health” matter. The biggest problem is that the government is not helping people take accountability for their own health and well-being.

Even Michelle Obama shared her personal opinion about the aspect of personal responsibility regarding obesity. During Michelle Obama's speech at the 101st NAACP Convention, she stated, "Government can only do so much. I have spoken to so many experts about this issue and not a single one of them said that the solution is to have the government tell people what to do... Instead, this is about families taking responsibility and making manageable changes," (NAACP, 2010). Kids may not know the best thing for them, but it is the responsibility of families to make the right choices for themselves and their children to prevent obesity.

We must keep ourselves accountable for our own health and well-being because we can't depend on the government to help us with something as private as ourselves and our bodies.