Obesity Is a Public Health Problem That

Obesity is a public health problem that requires immediate intervention. One third of Americans are obese, clearly marking obesity as an epidemic (CDC, 2014). Obesity is not just an aesthetic problem. Being fat alone is not the issue; it is what obesity does to the body that matters. Serious and often deadly diseases like diabetes, coronary heart disease, many types of cancer, and stroke are directly caused by obesity. These are all preventable problems caused by lifestyle habits. Most obesity is due to the most simple factors possible: diet and exercise.

Yet little is actually being done to control obesity. As a result, health care costs are rising. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008, and "the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight," (CDC, 2014). Obesity places a heavy burden on society, reducing overall quality of life. Therefore, interventions must include mandates in the private and public sectors that lead to long-term changes in normative culture and lifestyle.

Americans cherish their perceived freedoms, but even Americans understand the need for public health interventions from a utilitarian perspective. Vaccinations are one example of how Americans are willing to collectively improve the public health of the nation. Likewise, the smoking epidemic has been quelled due to direct intervention from the perspective of public health, legality and ethics. The next step is to apply the same methods to food manufacturers, businesses, urban planning, and institutions like schools.

"Leaving it to individuals to slim down through dieting and exercise without any such help…consistently fails," ("Heavy Weapons," 2014). Therefore, it is no longer appropriate or ethically sound to expect individual Americans to start feeding their children real food, feeding themselves real food, or walking to work. Americans have failed at self-regulation and cannot be trusted to solve the obesity problem on their own. Consumers are weak and ignorant, and a top-down approach must now ensue.

In the same way that the government heavy-handedly dealt with the tobacco industry for its misleading marketing tactics, the government now needs to place the same pressure on food manufacturers. Food manufacturers are partly to blame for the obesity epidemic. The writing is on the cereal box, apparently. "Collectively there is no question that the companies themselves now know and hold themselves accountable for at least part of the obesity crisis," (Smerconish, 2013). Like stupid consumers, companies cannot be trusted to eliminate the problem on their own.

Too much freedom leads to undisciplined and self-centered behaviors. Thus, massive and targeted government interventions are needed to stop food manufacturers from marketing their insipid products. Eating bad food, and eating too much are both "learned behaviors," inspired and reinforced by skillful marketing (National Institutes of Health, 2014). The only way to unlearn the behaviors is to start from square one. Eliminating junk food from shelves, eliminating commercials for junk food, and eliminating large portions in restaurants is a start. Restaurants need to stop serving portions that are unreasonable.

Likewise, food manufacturers need to stop pretending their products are not causing the obesity epidemic. Their products are causing the obesity epidemic just as cigarettes were causing lung cancer. "Overeating is a habit that is reinforced by restaurants that advertise high-calorie foods and large portion sizes," (National Institutes of Health, 2014). Just as distributing free condoms is a necessary public health intervention in areas with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, stopping the flow of processed foods is a necessary public health intervention.

There are several aspects to this issue. One is that processed food is profitable. Therefore, food manufacturers are bound to make themselves irrelevant if they continue to view chemical slurries as food. Second, food manufacturers target children, and bank on their brand loyalty. "Children see up to 10,000 food commercials every year. Most of these are for candy, fast food, soft drinks, and sugared cereals," (National Institutes of Health, 2014). "Happy Meals" and other marketing techniques for children need to be outlawed.

It does not matter if there is public outcry; the problem is a matter of national security. An obese populace is unproductive and unable to protect the nation. Two-thirds of the American public should not bear the heavy burdens of the one-third who are too fat. A key area of intervention is public schools. As Anderson (2014) points out, public schools are doing exactly the wrong things. They are cutting recess instead of extending recess.

Recess is where children burn off the most calories and gain the most from their activities, far more than through organized physical education periods that do not maximize their energy (Anderson, 2014). The National Institutes of Health (2014) agree that schools do not offer enough time for physical activity. What's more, schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods have even fewer options for children's physical activities. The poor suffer the most from access to healthy food and outlets for exercise.

Schools are also not offering healthy food and even have vending machines selling junk to students. These should be outlawed, and children should have access to healthy meals instead of mass-produced nonsense. Healthy food does not have to include iceberg lettuce and boiled vegetables, but can include healthful offerings that actually taste good. The key is eliminating the processed food industry, which tends to be a major stakeholder in catering services such as those that serve schools and other social institutions.

Urban planners also need to intervene in the obesity problem. Not only will American cities look better when their citizens are not obese, but they will have higher quality of life indicators such as parks and bicycle lanes. People who spend an hour to and from work in their car are likely not getting enough exercise. In communities with bike lanes, workers can ride.

Interventions need to focus on low income and disadvantaged communities because the poor live in areas with no access to healthy food and are also sedentary due to unemployment and depression (Anderson). Poor neighborhoods are less likely to have farmer's markets and grocery stores selling produce and whole grains, and more likely to have convenience stores and fast food outlets as their only food options. Healthy food.