8 CAMPUS OPINION
CHRISTY’S
CORNER
CHRISTY’S
CORNER
Should the government
regulate your weight?
CHRISTY
KIMBALL
News Editor
There is yet more con
troversy surrounding obesi
ty in the United States. One
school of thought is push
ing for bills that would add
taxes for soil drinks,'
require calorie counts on
restaurant menus and ban
foods of “minimal nutri
tional value” in public
schools.
The other school of
thought insists that con
sumption of food and exer
cise habits are personal
choices, so restaurants and
food companies should not
be held accountable for
one’s individual lifestyle
choices. This school pro
motes legislation such as
“The Commonsense
Consumption Act” and
“The Personal
Responsibility in Food
Consumption Bill”, which
prohibits lawsuits against
restaurants and food com
panies for causing obesity,
such as the McDonald’s
lawsuit.
There are continuous
attempts to regulate obesity
in children. The Arkansas
board of Education mandat
ed a weight report card to
be send home. Arkansas
joins local school districts
in Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, Oregon and
California in this mandate.
The other main player in
children’s lives is televi
sion; the media is ahnost
always a target.
There has been discus
sion about banning com-
mericals which feature
items of minimal nutrional
value such as sugary cere
als. Groups that oppose
these commercials feel that
cute, appealing characters
encourage children to con
sume imhealthy food,
thereby contributing to
childhood obesity. Children
might want the item the
cute character is promoting.
However, parents are
responsible for purchasing
food for their children.
It is easier to blame cor*
porations than it is to take
responsibility for your own
actions. Weight is routinely
measured and noticeable
unlike other health prob
lems such as lung cancer. If
you routinely eat a Big
Mac for Itmch and you
notice that everytime you
go to the doctor, your
weight increases and your
favorite pants no longer fit,
something is wrong.
Eliminate a variable to fig
ure out what is causing the
weight gain.I do not
believe the food industry
should be held accountable
for people’s personal choic
es.
I am often skeptical of
corporate America, but this
time I do not believe it is
entirely at fault. Educating
children about food is
important because they are
not innately familiar with
the dynamics of nutrition.
Regarding ‘junk’ food in
school, it is a complicated
situation. Fatty foods and
soft drinks are much cheap
er than ‘healthier’ food.
Additionally, soft drink
companies give schools
money to provide their
products. Public school
budgets are often fickle,
ergo supplementary income
is sometimes necessary.
The other side to this
argument proposes that if
children only have fatty
foods and soft drinks avail
able, how can they eat
healthier? The parents must
be involved in tiiis conun
drum. It is not so easy to
blame the parents, for
eveiy family has different
circumstances. If the parent
or parents responsible have
a fbll time job, it is rather
hard to pack a nutritious
lunch in lieu of giving the
child money to buy food at
school. Also, some children
are provided with school
lunches due to welfare pro
grams. It is inappropriate to
ban certain items from
schools without providing
alternative products and
supplementary income.
Regulation of factors
believed to contribute to
obesity is not a “ciure” to
the problem. Items can be
taxed, banned and a surplus
of information can be pro
vided, however, this is not
a ‘quipk fix’. Banning com
mercials is not the answer
either. Many adorable char
acters were around before
obesity was an epidemic,
so one cannot blame the
media. Education is most
likely the best solution. It
will not be so much a cure,
but a preventative measure.
M
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