The "Deli" Meal

Still Eat Your Fruits & Veggies!

You can buy frozen vegetables and fruit to make an array of different healthy snacks!

• Frozen fruits to make a smoothie
• Vegetables to make a salad
• Put fruit in your oatmeal

A few Healthy snack foods…

• Rice cakes
• Yogurt
• Oatmeal
• Peanut butter
• Cheese sticks
• Nuts
• Raisins
• Dark chocolate chips
• WATER!!!
• Jello
• Triscuits
• Whole grain bread

Some creation Ideas

• No-bake cookies
• Smoothies
• Salad
• Sandwiches
• Fruit Jello
• Trail Mix

Another day, another health crisis, or at least that’s what it’s starting to sound like. But this one isn’t anything new, in fact, it’s been creeping up on Americans over the past thirty years. (Obesity Initiative) Not only is a major cause of cancer, disease, and debt, but it’s also entirely preventable. Unfortunately, there seems to be more blaming and finger pointing to this issue then there is actual problem solving. “People aren’t getting enough exercise” may be true, but to be fair, the food industry has taken advantage of the situation by selling “lean” and “fat free” foods, then sugar coating everything they sell so while people may think they’re eating a tasty, healthy product, no one actually realizes that the product is actually causes more disease and fat than they originally thought.

You may be wondering, where am I going with this? Well, in a capitalist society, one of the great things is that you can pursue whatever you want to do. And unfortunately, some food companies have decided to purse profits and pushing public health to the side as a means of doing so. And guess whose responsibility it is to protect the people from this very thing? The government is, despite mainly pushing effort from those like the World Health Organizations to the side or trying to censor it completely for raising educational awareness on sugar and the daily recommended value (Fed Up). But it’s not too late, despite obesity already manifesting to the level it has. I will break down why it is absolutely crucial the United States government must push for regulation on the food industry as a whole or else face severe consequences from the deteriorating public health, which is the government’s duty to protect.

The government should intervene more because it is in the best interest country to look out for public health. Like the CDC monitors disease and illnesses, the government should also look out for foods that may have too much sugar or an unhealthy amount of chemicals added to it such as preservatives, flavoring, coloring, etc. Not only could this help the obesity issue, but it can also contribute to preventing other health issues that are related to obesity, which according to Obesity in the Latino Population, ranges from Diabetes, strokes, Coronary Artery Disease, and even Cancer. This costs Americans almost two-hundred billion dollars (Campaign to End Obesity), so it’s easy to see why the government could help save tax-payer money, keep people out of debt, and also allow that money to go to other uses. It would be great for minorities that have some of the higher obesity rates that’s voices don’t always get heard in the political landscape (Obesity in the Latino Population). The Campaign of End Obesity also brings up that US citizens that are obese and have a condition caused by it also miss around four hundred and fifty million days of work and loose around one hundred and fifty-three billion dollars of lost productivity due to it, which obviously has a huge economic impact and can affect the government as well.

One of the simplest ways to fight obesity could be showing the percentage of sugar that is in a certain drink or food. When I watched Fed Up, I realized how much sugar is actually recommended for an average diet intake (25 grams [which was originally going to be even lower]). To me this was eye opening since some soft drinks go over that limit with just one bottle, not to mention that “diet” soft drinks with artificial sweeteners that are no better. Something as simple as putting sugar percentage on soft drink could make consumers think twice about drinking a product that has one hundred and fifth teen percent of their daily recommended sugar intake.

Another way Americans can become healthier is if the government reforms public education on healthy habits. Yes, I realize that our education system already covers a little of the basics. But some of the classes I’ve taken so blandly describe the health effects of sugar and artificial sweeteners that it basically just comes down to soda and candy being bad and nothing else. If more detail is included in the course, then some students may have a change of heart really quick, especially when the risk of cancer gets discussed from products like sugar. And if you think about it, schools already have a very strong anti-tobacco campaign due to the cancer causing effects of tobacco. Why not have the same for junk food too?

School can also be more about teaching you what to eat. I think schools should have a cooking class in high school that would actually show teens how to make their own healthy food and survive on it. This will give our younger population a lifetime of culinary skills, even if it is just the basics. It will stop teens for reaching for pop tarts and hot pockets as often at the very least which can lead to a better diet over all. It also wouldn’t be a terrible idea to have a mandatory recess of gym class sometime during the week to let kids and teens have fun and burn off calories from running around play on a playground or if they’re older allowing them to play a game of kick ball or another competitive team sport. I realize that Fed Up went over this already and how more needed to be done, however I think it will be generally more benefiting to the younger population, and will hopefully bring down the current childhood obesity rate of seventeen percent. (Obesity Initiative) The good news is that this number appears to be leveling out as a percentage level in several different states such as Georgia. (Obesity Initiative)

Speaking of the younger population, let’s talk about advertisements about junk food and how children are affected by it. Fed Up showed that according to scientific studies, children eat a considerable more food while watching advertising relating to food products. They are also particularly drawn to colorful cartoon characters they are familiar with appearing on junk food items and as a result urge their parents to buy the said item. One option to counter it is the government could ban ads on junk food during certain times of the day on TV, that way they are less exposed, although it is a bit extreme. The best option may be to give more subsidies to farmers, as then produce industries will have more money to spend on advertising, and I’ll explain additional benefits for the subsidies later.

The US Legislator could also impose a sugar tax like the tax imposed on tobacco products. While this will obviously be very controversial, it could have some lasting impacts such as people buying healthier foods. This would make healthy foods more competitive with the sugary alternatives price wise as well. Speaking of which, many people (particularly lower income families) have had to choose between inexpensive unhealthy food and more expensive healthier food (Obesity in the Latino Population). Unsurprisingly, lower income families go with the cheaper of the two options, and as result, you see the much higher rates of obesity rates among lower income communities (Campaign to End Obesity). In addition, I propose that the US should give subsidies to farmers to possibly help lower the prices of healthy produce for Americans and manufactures that use it for ingredients. This is also important because given that seventy-two percent of older men and sixty-seven percent of older women are now obese in America (Campaign to End Obesity), in general exercise isn’t really as big of a thing at that age unless you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger. As long as people get healthy food, obesity won’t be an issue, and exercise will become more of a niche for actually gaining weight and muscle and instead of losing it.

Government involvement in regulating the food industry is important to guarantee that all of our citizens regardless of race or income stay protected from being limited on healthy foods but having a surplus of sugary food but also so they still have the freedom to go out and purchase sugary foods if they wish. Educational skills are very important, so we must arm as many people as we can the knowledge about cooking well and the different kinds of foods to avoid. Without the government regulating the industry, it is likely that companies won’t treat public health as fairly, so as long as they’re making a profit off of their products. As a nation, we must continue to watch out for public health and disease in all forms, including those caused by obesity, because in the long run, taking better care of our population will pay off dramatically, or else we’ll be handicapped as a whole with one of the most diseased filled populations in history.

Works Cited:

"What Can Obesity Lead To?" Obesity in the Latino Population. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

"The Campaign to End Obesity." The Campaign to End Obesity. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

"Obesity Initiative." Obesity Initiative. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

Couric, Katie, and Laurie David. "Fed Up." Fed Up. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.