Essay Example about Obesity
The obesity epidemic has been plaguing the United States for decades, with its death toll grossing 2.8 million a year. If by chance a person is lucky enough to survive being obsese, they are generally saddled with illnesses like diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. Fortunately, in most cases, all of this is greatly preventable. The lifestyle of a child is shown to project a path that their health will follow for their lives. So, we might be obligated to help children make educated decisions regarding their diets and help balance their diets. Many people are simply unaware of the implications that drinking soda or sugary drinks can have on their health. A warning label on these products may help inform the consumers of the risks of the product.
Before purchasing a pack of cigarettes, the customer’s eyes are met with a clear warning, “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health”. Why might labeling a potentially dangerous drink be any different? The health defects of having a large intake of sugar may be detrimental to a person’s future before they are even made aware of them. For example, in Source 1, it is said that the American Journal of Health published a piece that gave evidence to the claim that “People who reported drinking a 350ml bottle of fizzy drink per day had DNA changes typical of cells 4.6 years older.” Aged cells can become faulty and eventually lead to fatal illnesses, and there might be a lot of people who don’t know this. The lack of knowledge regarding the prospective malignant affliction can lead to a large number of people consuming the product in ignorance. A warning label might help to increase transparency.
A warning on the label may also hurt the revenue of the companies a lot less than a tax would- like the senate *previously moved to pass. Though the city of San Francisco rejected taxing sugary drinking, it did nothing to make the government’s determination to curb the drinks waiver. Keeping their resolve, the warning label was proposed. In that same bill, the cautionary marker is accompanied by the movement that would “...seek to ban advertising of sugary drinks on city property and ban city departments from purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages,” (Source 2). Again, we see the ambition to decrease sugar intake for the public’s possible benefit. The proposals are on their way to the full board before they are passed.
The warnings on unhealthy foods are shown to decrease their consumption, according to Source 3. Calorie intake has been reduced by 6.6%, fat by 10.6%, and unhealthy food choices by 13%. Surpassing this, labels increase the intake of healthy foods by 13.5%. While these numbers may seem minute, these people may also recommend their new lifestyle choices to their friends, and most importantly their children. Perhaps, having a warning symbol on the unhealthy foods will discourage people from purchasing them, and guide them to “...opt for healthier alternatives,” says Dr. K. K. Aggarwal, a specialist in Heart Care.
If people are not concerned with their own health, it may help to put a climate warning on food. A climate warning could potentially give people another reason to invest in more nutritious foods. For example, in Source 4 it states, “Walkers chief executive Neil Campbell said, "We hope this label will empower people to make informed choices about the products they buy." There are many companies that are happy with this movement, such as Coca Cola and Tide. Joseph Poore, an agricultural expert, compares the need for mandatory energy efficiency stickers on washers, dryers, and refrigerators to the need for carbon trace stickers on food. He explains that the food industry is one of the driving factors of pollution- it makes up 30% of greenhouse gasses, 80% of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and threatens 10,000 species to extinction, so the need to label them is just as valid. Climate labels might allow potential customers to make educated decisions on which products to purchase.
As previously shown, there has been a lot of effort to label foods with warnings on them. The effects of these may have the ability to help eliminate things like obesity, diabetes, and even help reduce our carbon footprint. There have been thorough discussions and many states see the positive impacts as enough for them to make the decision as soon as possible.
