Now that we have a
new President, maybe he can do something about the health crisis in the U.S. either by being the example or through his legislations.
Obama is the slimmest modern day President and
was once thought to be too skinny to be President of a nation full of obese citizens.
The country needs someone like him, a guy who takes physical fitness and health very seriously (that smoking habit needs to go, although he has cut back and is chewing
Nicorette).
But there are a few ways Obama can help the nation if people don’t follow his example:
Ban Smoking in Public Places – Since he still smokes occasionally, he should know first hand how much he’s hurting those around him.
He could do what many states have already done, ban smoking in places like bars and restaurants, across the country.
This could help millions of people who inhale second hand smoke and possibly decrease the number of overall smokers.
The other option for deceasing cigarette smoking is to increase the tax on it, like here in NYC (Marlboro Reds, Obama’s favorite, cost more than $8 in NYC). It’s a great way for states to make money, while forcing many to stop smoking.
School Nutrition – This is a huge problem. Do you remember your school lunch in HS? Remember how much you hated it? Well with two young kids now in the eye of the public, he should be aware of how important nutrition is for kids.
Children are obese at younger ages, so supporting legislation to increase nutritional standards in schools could be a big step towards the fight against childhood obesity.
Support Organic – President Obama is a big supporter of organic foods, especially local. He and his wife,
Michelle, have mentioned countless times they buy organic every chance they get.
He’s also taking office during a time when organic is considered mainstream and obesity rates are at its highest. He is expected to sign legislation supporting local, organic farmers.
Tax Unhealthy Food – Much like the legislation proposed by
Governor Patterson in NY, taxing soda, Obama can allow other states to do the same.
Many states are already cash strapped, so this can bring in revenue while forcing consumers to cut back on unhealthy foods such as soda, candy, and other junk.
Whether or not Obama does any of these things, many will still look at him as the example for a healthier, fitter nation.
Should the government intervene and pass legislation to help an unhealthy population get healthier? Why or why not?
Mr. Cheeseburger healthkicker.com
Comments (70)
No offense, but I kind've consider all of those suggestions to be at least borderline ignorant. Since the moment they began to attempt making food in school more nutritious, do you know what they've noticed? They've noticed that, hey, those kids are still going to eat whatever they want to when they get home. The school can be forced to change their menus until all they serve is organic vegetables and it will probably not effect much, unless the kid barely gets fed at home. What do many kids do at home? Eat their junk food and play video games. The school can't control that. I don't think the school should be held accountable for the obesity epidemic in children, I think the PARENTS should be held accountable. Oh, no, of course not, they had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Ban smoking in public places? My aunt is one of the people who whole heartedly supports that idea. When she goes around smokers she starts complaining about a headache, and all sorts of other great crap. Whereas we all know that smoking is dangerous, we do all have legs. We all have a brain, yeah? You see someone smoking on a bench, move to another bench, don't sit right beside them and invite the second hand smoke to your lungs. Restaurants, fast food joints, bars, etc are already not letting people smoke inside. I think that's enough. It's laziness on nonsmokers parts for not wanting to get off their derriere to sit somewhere else, or to stand a few feet away. Eating amongst cigarette smoke is gross, but for heavens sake, you CAN stand somewhere else. It's not that hard.
Tax unhealthy food? What in the hell? It isn't the governments problem if everyone is overweight. It's not MY fault if my neighbor is as big as the tree in my front yard. Why should we raise the taxes on unhealthy food? Thousands of skinny people in the United States eat unhealthy food, so you're basically asking them to get punished to help the obesity epidemic. Greeeat. Taxing cigarettes is great, because only smokers are effected. Same with alcohol or anything else of that form. But when it comes to food that people who don't have a problem eat also? Not a good idea. Pretty ridiculous.
I don't get the organic craze. I buy what's cheap.
A lot of those things are good ideas, but I don't think Congress would pass any of them. Also, even if Congress did pass one of those ideas, the people might retaliate and ask for their privileges back. For example, the Prohibition.
I think that, if the U.S.A. (or any country) wants to tackle obesity, it needs to look at why people are so unhappy/stressed/busy that they're turning to unhealthy food for comfort/convenience. Look at the lifestyle first... then, if necessary, you can make some laws.
@pillowpixies@xanga - "Eating amongst cigarette smoke is gross, but for heavens sake, you CAN stand somewhere else. It's not that hard."
That's what I'm talking about. We should be sitting down when we're eating. Not shoving a burger into our face while standing in a food court. And if we're going to be sitting down to actually enjoy a meal, then I'd prefer not to have the surrounding air filled with smoke. I pay for food in a restaurant... not smoke-tainted air.
@LadyLibellule@xanga - I knew that somebody would read that the way you did. Sorry, I kind've worded it wrong. When I said eating amongst cigarette smoke is gross, I was going along with what I had said before about how I think that's enough (not letting them smoke in the buildings). When I said that everyone had legs, I was talking about how outside of a building, not in a restaurant, how people can move away from them.
America IS an eating disorder.
But we are always talking about obesity. The rate of anorexia and bulimia is growing as well.
@pillowpixies@xanga -
it isn't the school's obligation to help in the obesity epidemic, but every little bit helps. and if the schools (and parents!) start educating about healthy choices at a younger age, it could be a huge help.
also, not all states have banned public smoking. i think that the suggestion is to ban public smoking, which is in the restaurants/bars/businesses. people can still smoke outside if they're away from these kinds of places. and i agree, if someone is sitting outside and smoking, you could just move away. sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.
and taxing unhealthy food isn't just about the obesity epidemic. there are plethora of health problems that unhealthy foods create. and it IS a problem for the government if people are unhealthy, because there are government programs that fund insurance, hospitals, etc. and i've heard suggestions of using the money from the tax to decrease costs of produce and other fresh products and/or fund educational programs on the benefits of exercise and eating healthily.
i agree that in all of those situations people have somewhat of a choice in the matter, but prices and lack of education/counseling can be barriers.
@sambepambe@xanga - I was going to say the same thing about taxing unhealthy food- it's not just about obesity anymore. I agree with everything you said!
i don't think the government should worry about what people eat. they have more important things to fix than our extreme fatness.
if you want to eat solid grease for breakfast lunch and dinner, why should the president stop you?
second hand smoke and child obesity, however, are a different story. (child obesity is caused by the lack of good parenting, in my opinion, which is not the child's fault).
i like my school lunches though.
pasta.
sandwichs (the yummy italian kind)
salad
noodles
soup.
etc.
our stuff is actually quite healthy...
it might if it isn't over done
@GodsGirl62@xanga - i had fibromyalgia for 5 years and within one month of eating organic food 90% of my symptoms went away. The cost is worth it to me!!
um, as much as i would like it to be easier to buy organic food, seriously, obama is not going to solve all of our problems.
I totally agree with banning of bad foods in schools, taking out unhealthy shit in the vending machine and pop and juices with added sugars
Of course they are going to eat whatever they would like at home ( hopefully their parents are limiting their intake of junk) but having that in school is just calling children to eat that bad stuff
I remember in my grammar school 6-8th grade would go to the gym to eat lunch and they sold soooo much candy it was ridiculous!
That wasn't necessary to be selling chocolate, gummies filled with sugar
no good
Tax unhealthly food.
Um...George Bush also took his health very seriously, esp. for an older guy.
I find it hilarious that one can take their health seriously and still smoke. Ha!!
I don't like the list. I find it unconstitutional to try and force America to be healthier and to tax foods that I may prefer over others.
If cigs get taxed even more than they already are, people are going to start rioting... tobacco taxes are too high already.
@Ailean@xanga - Haha. Gooood points.
The problem I have with this all is just the government attempting to run our lives. It's not up to them to change us, and quite frankly, short of banning fast food and soda from the country, are not capable of changing us. We should be teaching and instilling in our kids healthy eating habits. It's nothing that a tax or school lunch can change. Honestly, "healthy" school lunches just made kids not eat sometimes at the preschool I worked at last year. So instead of eating a reasonably healthy meal, they skipped the highly nutritious stuff and waited until the afternoon snack. And people will just pay the extra on soda. You can't change a nation at all by the things mentioned in this article. We should instead educate our kids to truly understand how to take care of their bodies. This is something that parents, relatives, and friends are responsible for, not the President, as good of an example as he may be.
Oh yay! More taxes and more government control! Just what America needs!
Seriously though - self discipline is not an American value. If people practiced more self discipline, maybe we would be obese and broke.
@PenaltyLife@xanga - It is upto the government to institute something because if they don't, healthcare costs are going to be on the rise, which they cannot afford. The government wants its citizens to be healthy, not because they care but because of the costs.
@Lizbeth8207@xanga - you are absolutely correct, education is key, BUT it's not working in the schools. You can preach education all you want, most kids aren't listening. One of the ways to make sure education works, is to implement some of these legislations and then educate. That might work, other wise educating won't really do much.You know, take away and explain why it was taken away.
I think doing something is better than nothing at all. As far as the whole smoking thing...
I live in Illinois, and we have the ban on smoking, and i am glad for it. I am a former smoker, and I am adamant in saying there is NO GOOD that comes from smoking. NONE. So if you want to smoke, and puff away your money and your health, then do it on your own away from the rest of us. YOU should have to move away from us while smoking, we shouldn't have to move away from you. I rather my children never had to be around it, or even seen anyone else smoking at all. Its a horrid habit, and i hate i wasted so many years poisoning myself. No one should be subjected to the smell, or fumes. The cig butts litter our land and the smoke litters our air, and the poisons litter our body.
@kash - You make good points. But I'm not talking about it being only the schools' responsibility to educate the kids on this, a much bigger part of it is parents and other adults in the kids' lives who aren't doing their jobs and bringing up their children to treat their bodies right. I do agree with taking away things like soda and vending machines in schools, though.
That way the school can not be held responsible in any way. And unless the school lunches are McD's and Taco Bell, I don't think it should be necessary to change those too much. That's just my opinion though :)
@Lizbeth8207@xanga - yup definitely agree on the parents need to be responsible. I've seen parents just give into the kid's demands to shut them up.
@quiet_strength@revelife - Wow! That's too cool. I hadn't heard of stuff like that before.
Those are all great suggestions, and I wish they would follow through with them. For me, I'd particularly like to see taxes on unhealthy food, healthy food made more affordable - and banning of smoking in public places. I'm asthmatic - and so, by merely going outside if there is a smoker and I have to walk past them, my life is essentially in their hands. I've had terrible attacks because I've had to walk past a smoker to go to a building, or was sharing a street corner while waiting for a light to turn, and they always give me a dirty look for having to whip out my inhaler. I'm not coughing and taking my inhaler out to "prove a point" - I'm doing it to save my life, because if I wait to try and not make them feel uncomfortable, I could collapse and die. I usually have one ER trip a year due to my asthma, so any opportunity to possibly reduce that by banning smoking in public areas would be great. The co-worker I share a cube with is a smoker, the stench (third-hand smoke) clings to him, his clothes and his chair, and I'm having to use my emergency inhaler more than usual as a result, and there is unfortunately no place for me to move to, or for him to move to, so I can get away from it. :(