Tonga, a small island in the Pacific, is the country with highest rates of obesity in the world—four out of every five citizens are obese. The United States of America does not stay behind, 66.3 percent of its citizens are obese. Although not the only, the primary cause for obesity is poor dietary habits; in other words, what amount and quality of food people eat. Such high rates of obesity (which lately has been recognized as a disease) drives the topic into political discussion. Radley Balko, Judith Warner, and Mary Maxfield all wrote powerful essays criticizing the approach of the government and the common citizen towards the dieting problem in America. Since diet is not only a factor that affects health, but also a big component of America’s
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Food, and dietary habits, can be great way to distinguish between different cultures, and even different points of time. Food and culture are closely related, yet there are still different points of view over how they link. In one hand we have Maxfield, who states that food is either glorified or stigmatized depending on the culture. To support her claim, Maxfield asserts, “Food…is [not] moral or immoral…notions of good and bad are projected into it by culture” (446). With this statement, Maxfield is clearly explaining that the culture defines whether a food can be categorized as healthy or unhealthy. From this point of view, culture is to be blamed for creating stereotypes regarding food and diets; it is culture who dictates if adding some extra spice is good or bad for the body. On the other hand, Warner sees culture as a way to change America’s diet. Supporting her claim that propaganda will make people eat healthier, Warner explains that the best way to make people eat healthy is by changing their culture towards food: “[C]ultural change is what offers the best hope for transforming how and what Americans eat” (403). What Warner argues is that if the cultural perception of food is changed, then the dietary habits of that culture will change as well. Both, Maxfield and Warner, see diet as a relative concept dictated by the culture of the individual. Nonetheless, diet …show more content…
Continuously criticizing the government, Balko argues that “freeing insurance companies to reward healthy lifestyles, and penalize poor ones” (398) is one the best ways to alleviate the health crisis. Balko’s opinion is not only purely economically-driven, but it does not take into consideration those whose only option is to eat unhealthy (like the people who can only afford inexpensive, unhealthy fast food), and therefore it is a flawed solution. Maxfield presents an equally extremist solution that is more of a slogan than anything else: “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs” (446). What Maxfield is basically saying is that, in order to defeat the health issue in America, people should eat whatever they feel is necessary for them to survive, no matter how much or what quality of food. Of course, this solution offered by Maxfield is an oversimplification of humans’ needs for survival; the results of eating without control is death due to obesity problems, which is not a solution for the diet issue. When all hope seems lost, Warner comes with a solution that, although not perfect, seems more fit that the two previous. As an extension of her propaganda-based government intervention, Warner argues that “[You] need to present healthful eating as a new, desirable, freely chosen expression of
Food, and dietary habits, can be great way to distinguish between different cultures, and even different points of time. Food and culture are closely related, yet there are still different points of view over how they link. In one hand we have Maxfield, who states that food is either glorified or stigmatized depending on the culture. To support her claim, Maxfield asserts, “Food…is [not] moral or immoral…notions of good and bad are projected into it by culture” (446). With this statement, Maxfield is clearly explaining that the culture defines whether a food can be categorized as healthy or unhealthy. From this point of view, culture is to be blamed for creating stereotypes regarding food and diets; it is culture who dictates if adding some extra spice is good or bad for the body. On the other hand, Warner sees culture as a way to change America’s diet. Supporting her claim that propaganda will make people eat healthier, Warner explains that the best way to make people eat healthy is by changing their culture towards food: “[C]ultural change is what offers the best hope for transforming how and what Americans eat” (403). What Warner argues is that if the cultural perception of food is changed, then the dietary habits of that culture will change as well. Both, Maxfield and Warner, see diet as a relative concept dictated by the culture of the individual. Nonetheless, diet …show more content…
Continuously criticizing the government, Balko argues that “freeing insurance companies to reward healthy lifestyles, and penalize poor ones” (398) is one the best ways to alleviate the health crisis. Balko’s opinion is not only purely economically-driven, but it does not take into consideration those whose only option is to eat unhealthy (like the people who can only afford inexpensive, unhealthy fast food), and therefore it is a flawed solution. Maxfield presents an equally extremist solution that is more of a slogan than anything else: “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs” (446). What Maxfield is basically saying is that, in order to defeat the health issue in America, people should eat whatever they feel is necessary for them to survive, no matter how much or what quality of food. Of course, this solution offered by Maxfield is an oversimplification of humans’ needs for survival; the results of eating without control is death due to obesity problems, which is not a solution for the diet issue. When all hope seems lost, Warner comes with a solution that, although not perfect, seems more fit that the two previous. As an extension of her propaganda-based government intervention, Warner argues that “[You] need to present healthful eating as a new, desirable, freely chosen expression of