What Role Should the Government Play in our Nutrition? - Paper Example

Often, government decisions in the country are perceived as undesirable. People feel entitled to make their decisions on whichever diet they want to have and the time they need it, ignoring the importance of the role of the government in their nutrition. Ideally, a section of the population agrees that the government should play a role in their diet while the rest argue that they should feed on whatever pleases them. However, depending on the rising health risks issues based on nutrition and the large number of people who do not consume the right portion of food, the government should play a role in shaping what the public consumes (Berná et al. 102). Thus, the paper focuses on discussing the role that the government should play in nutrition.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The reason why the argument is supported is due to the increase in the number of patients with obesity and overweight issues. These are the major social problems in America (Berná et al. 104). The mentioned diseases are dangerous and they come alongside various negative health problems. Besides, obesity is considered an expensive disease, this is because most people that are affected by it are the poor who are not in a position to acquire expensive food since a healthy diet is costly. So the majority of them feed on fast food meals which are affordable to them but are not healthy. For example, carbonated soft drinks and fatty snacks make people add weight(Berná et al. 106). Most of the food in the fast-food trans fats in them which leads to an increase in the level of unwanted cholesterol in the human body while reducing the amount of the required cholesterol in the system. Unwanted cholesterol in the system might trigger heart problems or other health issues. The government's role, in this case, is to regulate the quantity that people eat and the various types of food that its citizens consume (Elliot et al. 177). The government should also consider the prices of healthy food and make them affordable so that everyone is in a better position to buy them. It is because obesity has coasted society billions of dollars in the health care sector and most individuals have also lost productivity (Elliot et al. 179).

Secondly, the government should limit the production of harmful foods. The government can achieve this by adding extra charges to the industries that produce or sell ultra-processed foods and soft drinks (Elliot et al. 180). Ideally, this would discourage them and they will reduce the amount they produce as producing more processed food will be costly. Also, the government can cut the incentives they give to farmers or organizations that use large quantities of fertilizers to facilitate faster growth of their products. It is because the chemicals or pesticides that are used, make the products unhealthy for human consumption since they are made up of ingredients that are not safe to the body (skin and the respiratory system). By doing so, they will be restricting the availability of foods that are unhealthy for people’s consumption.

Third, over the past decades, the American diet seems to have changed and the citizens need guidance in ways that they can improve their health through better meal plans. In this case, the government should be able to provide nutrition guidance for its people (Elliot et al. 181). Also, the government should encourage nutrition-based research, food industry reformulation, and promote nutrition standards for all meals. The main reason for this is to improve the quality of food being consumed by the Americans by giving special attention to an individual’s responsibility and choice through the nutritional guides, labeling of foods and food menus, and giving counseling lessons in clinics. It will in turn lead to healthy living amongst people hence a reduction in health-related issues.

On the other hand, the argument that the government should play a role in our nutrition is not supported. It is because research associated with the role played by the government in nutrition has shown very little progress regarding the issues related to people’s health. The main causes of obesity have been attached to an individual’s genes, factors based on socioeconomics, metabolic reasons, and peoples’ choices of living. Other than this, it is argued that the role of innocent citizens is to pay high taxes to cater to the billions of dollars required for the country's health sector to manage people with obesity (Taylor et al. 119). This group of individuals see obesity as a problem that people caused for themselves by not being discipline on their diet or not watching over what their children consume: today, obesity also affects people at young ages. Studies show that the government has spent money on solutions that are not effective and this cannot solve the rising problem of obesity. Thus, obesity can be controlled when people decide to be a disciple and not giving the government any role to participate in the nutrition sector.

In conclusion, the government has several roles to play in the nutrition sector as many factors lead to unhealthy nutrition. Ultimately, obesity and other related health risks have surpassed the reasonable limits, and this cannot be put in order without considering other factors such as poverty and social issues that are the main cause of the unhealthy living of people. The price tag of healthy meals should also be reduced so that all categories of people can access it. While at it, unhealthy meals should be produced in small quantities into the market. By so doing, the government would help its citizens greatly by shifting its nutritional behaviors.

Works Cited

Berná, Genoveva; RomeroGomez, Manuel. Liver International. Feb2020 Supplement S1, Vol. 40, p102-108. 7p.

Elliott, Victoria; Hore, Beth. Cambridge Journal of Education. Jun2016, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p177-193. 17p.

Taylor, Sebastian A.J.; Perez-Ferrer, Carolina; Griffiths, Andrew; Brunner, Eric. Social Science & Medicine. Feb2015, Vol. 126, p119-127. 9p.