The Importance Of Obesity

Many people strongly disagree that obesity is not a public health concern. Many feel that it is simply a health concern and should not be part of the political scene and is not any of the governments business. Many feel as if their rights are violated because the government has chosen to implement health policies that attempt to reduce the incidence of obesity because of the huge social impact that it has on health insurance and the cost of medical care for everyone. What we do know is that based on research, obesity is directly tied to socioeconomic status (Schreier & Chen, 2013). Rates of obesity have skyrocketed in the past couple decades for adults, adolescents and children. Two out of every three adults in America are either overweight or obese and nearly 9 million children and adolescents are considered overweight (Tao & Glazer, 2005). This trend is particularly prevalent in children of low economic status. Among low-income US children, 28% resided in households …show more content…
In other words, there would be a set amount that SNAP benefit paid toward unhealthy food choices. With this option, the SNAP benefit would pay 100% of a healthy food choice while it may pay a smaller portion of the cost of an unhealthy food choice. This would leave the participant to pay the remainder of the cost associated with the unhealthy food choice. There have been recommendations that the SNAP program should set price ceilings for food groups. For example, $40 available for spending on green leafy vegetables and $10 of the total benefit available for snack items. Regardless of how this is administered, it has the potential to encourage those who use the SNAP benefit to make healthier food choices. If a person is truly economically challenged and in need of food, they would make wiser choices for healthier foods to simply prevent unnecessary