Prose & Cons

Pros and Cons: Obesity

            Obesity has become a nationwide problem. The statistics state that 68.8% of Americans are either overweight or on the early stages of obesity, 35.7% of Americans are Obese, and 6.3% of Americans are in the extreme stages of obesity. The information that was just presented was just for the adults in America. For children the statistics state that 31.8% are overweight or on the early stages of obesity and 16.9% are obese. Who is to blame for these facts? Is it the fault of the consumer or the producer?

            A lot of people argue that the reason why there’s a lot of obesity in America today is because of all the fast food advertisements. For example, the article “Food Fight” states that the advertisements are very effective on both children and adults. It also states that the industry spends 30 billion dollars on advertisements a year. Why would they spend 30 billion dollars a year if it wasn’t effective on consumers? Another example, the article “How Fast Foods Are Causing Obesity in America” explains that fast food is highly available and affordable. They brain wash the people to think fast food saves both time and money. They offer too many easy calories and unhealthy ingredients to contribute to being overweight. The people who make this argument are usually one of the many overweight American citizens.

            Another possible argument is that it’s not the fault of the producer, but the fault of the consumer. The article “An Inactive Lifestyle” explains how many Americans aren’t physically active. It states that the reason for this is because too many people spend hours in front of TV’s and computers doing work, school work, and leisure activities. Another article that supports this argument is “Obesity is now a Disease.” This article states that because obesity is considered a disease people begin to think that it’s up to doctors and health professionals to cure them, relieving them of responsibility: the “it’s not my fault” syndrome.

            I believe that it’s the consumers fault for being obese. No one is forcing them to make the decision of eating fast food. The decision is entirely up to them. America has been fighting for the rights of the people and now that the people acquire the right to make their own decisions they don’t know how to make the right decisions. They can blame the industry and the fast food restaurants for inviting for them to eat their food all they want. It’s the same as if someone were to offer you drugs. You’re entirely responsible for either saying yes or no. If you do drugs there’s a high possibility you’ll get in trouble with the law, same goes for eating junk food. If you eat junk food there’s a high possibility you’ll gain weight and maybe even become obese. The people of America just have been making poor decisions. It’s all up to the next generations to either exterminate this or continue it.

            Just like anything else there’s always two sides of an argument. In this case it’s an argument between the consumers and producers. Some think it’s the industries and fast food restaurant’s fault for serving such unhealthy food. Then there’s the argument that the people are making very poor decisions when they eat. I honestly think that people who are obese try to blame anyone but themselves for their lifestyle. There are many ways to prevent obesity.