When considering America's biggest health crisis,
obesity, I don't believe the blame can be placed on any one person, entity or
industry. Rather I believe it's our society's collective change of lifestyle
that has brought about this issue.
We used to eat meals as a family, we used to work (literally) in the fields for our food, kids used to play outside for fun--not watch TV or play video games. The term "home-cooked" meal didn't even exist because every single meal you ate was cooked at home.
But people slowly moved away from the farm and into the neighborhood, or should we say the neighborhoods moved into the farms? Everyone had a car if not two, and a desk job became the best thing for your family. Our schedules quickly became filled with commuting, chauffeuring, and the convenience of drive-thru dinners.
But all of this is irrelevant--what matters at this point is how we as a society move forward now that the fat cat is out of the bag. The American palate is getting back to basics and craving more Better for You foods. And the food and restaurant industries, as well as the federal government, recognize this and are taking appropriate actions to address the issue (i.e. nutritional labeling on restaurant menus, reduction in trans fats, sodium reduction initiatives).
So, as with anything in life, I view this public health issue as a lesson to be learned. Ignorance is bliss, but it's time for consumers to stop passing the buck. At the end of the day, we are each responsible for what goes into our mouth.
We used to eat meals as a family, we used to work (literally) in the fields for our food, kids used to play outside for fun--not watch TV or play video games. The term "home-cooked" meal didn't even exist because every single meal you ate was cooked at home.
But people slowly moved away from the farm and into the neighborhood, or should we say the neighborhoods moved into the farms? Everyone had a car if not two, and a desk job became the best thing for your family. Our schedules quickly became filled with commuting, chauffeuring, and the convenience of drive-thru dinners.
But all of this is irrelevant--what matters at this point is how we as a society move forward now that the fat cat is out of the bag. The American palate is getting back to basics and craving more Better for You foods. And the food and restaurant industries, as well as the federal government, recognize this and are taking appropriate actions to address the issue (i.e. nutritional labeling on restaurant menus, reduction in trans fats, sodium reduction initiatives).
So, as with anything in life, I view this public health issue as a lesson to be learned. Ignorance is bliss, but it's time for consumers to stop passing the buck. At the end of the day, we are each responsible for what goes into our mouth.
I agree. Personal responsibility has to play a role at some point in this discussion. According to a new study by the Urban Institute and the University of Virginia, obesity costs $200 billion in health care costs each year.
The study suggests a "Fat Tax" be applied to certain foods, estimating that it could potentially raise $530 billion over the next 10 years. But if people can't take personal responsibility for feeding themselves the right kinds of foods in the first place, will a tax really solve the obesity problem?
In our rapidly-approaching "nanny state" here's something with which I can get on board. Infants should be implanted with a "personal responsibility chip" at birth! The rest of us should ingest ours with our next fast food meal. We're each responsible for deciding what goes into our mouths, and for educating ourselves about the options. We're each responsible for taking care of bodies, including exercising good judgment and just exercising period! We spend more effort maintaining our cars than we do our bodies. Should industry be more responsible, too? Absolutely! But it's time to realize that Pogo was wise when he used to say, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"