Introduction
Healthy eating is being advocated for by almost every health organization across America. This has also increased awareness and consideration of the health impact that food portends to individuals. The healthy eating trends have aloes been seen to have changed drastically. This is attributed to their fact that people have become very knowledgeable about health and nutrition.
As people in American continue consuming large amounts of food product that are unhealthy, ready-made, unnatural processed food stuffs, there is a already a backlash against this. The important healthy eating trends are seen in the areas of organic foods, vegetarian, juicing and raw foods. The government has been instrumental in driving the nation towards healthy eating. The purpose of the paper is to offer the context that the government can work in to promote healthy eating.
This targets critical factors of concern which include the prices of the organic foods and prices. Many people complain that the cost is too high. The government needs to invest on food supply so that it can help the citizens to have healthy food. Food security is described as the attaining a state in which everybody is able to access nutritionally appropriate, culturally tolerable, harmless food regularly through local non-emergency means.
Statement of Problem
Food policy usually comes to dominate the operations of the government yet many presidential candidates in their campaigns do not consider food policy as a major campaign tool. This is because the federal policies that concern food have been able to keep the prices low especially corn, wheat and rice.
The prices of organic food product is slightly higher that other food products because these foods are more nutritious and have been recommended by health experts (Wheelock 334). However the cost and availability of foods aren’t the only problems. After vehicles, food production and preparation seem to consume a greater percentage of gas or fuel that is spent by the state.
Beside consumption of a lot of fuel, there is the effect on t he climate. These Diseases are also linked to the types of food that Americans consume. Research has shown that of the four leading cause of illness and death are food related; cancer, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes (Wheelock 334). Considering that the US is involved in business with the rest of the world in many aspects and an impact on the US food security would affect the rest of the world and the trade policies will be shaken.
Summary of the Current Debates
Childhood obesity: Fast food meals are very popular because they are very tasty to resist, they are cheap, they are readily available, they are convenient and they are very fast (Binkley et al. 1039). According to research, eating only two fast food meals per week can very destructive.
This is because they risk of getting obese is increased by 50%. For instance a breakfast meal with fries, nuggets, burgers can greatly elevate the risk as these foods contain high levels of sugar, refined floor, salt (sodium) and oils. This combination in itself is a health hazard (Bryan 1509).
Despite of the fact that fast foods are readily available and expedient, many studies indicate that they have a low nutritional value (Pollan para. 3). In these studies, it is indicated that the fast foods have carbohydrates of low quality particularly white bread which has been shown to contain high levels of saturated fats. These fats are known to contribute to elevated levels of Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL)/Bad cholesterol which in turn lead to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases (Bryan 1509).
These fast foods also contribute to weight gain due to the fact that they have concentrated caloric content which makes the body unable to record when the food is enough and thus more food will end up being consumed. Additionally, the excess sugar in the fast foods increases the glycemic indices and this can also lead to the release of increased levels of insulin which in turn leads to weight gain.
Trans-fats and Health – Trans-fats have been associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and there are many evidence-based outcomes that confirm these conclusions (Schlosser 67). The United States suffers the largest percentage of heart disease cases in the world.
Of all the cardiovascular diseases, heart disease highly leads in causing deaths in the US and it has also been linked to very high risk of developing arrhythmias or even disability from it (Mozaffarian 1602). Other diseases that are closely linked to the occurrence of heart diseases include coronary heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, arterial diseases and congestive heart disease. On the whole, cardiovascular disease cause the largest number of death even more than the combined figure from accidents, cancers and HIV/AIDS.
Accordingly, NCHS has revealed that, at birth, Americans have a 47 percent probability of developing and dying from illnesses that are related to cardiovascular diseases (Mozaffarian 1602). Nonetheless, regardless of the risky and fatal implications, cardiovascular diseases and other related illnesses still have very alarming prevalence in America and continue being the deadliest underlying reasons for largest percentage of deaths among Americans (Pollan para. 3).
Despite the type of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD), be it stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure or hypertension, the diseases can affect everybody in America regardless of the age. Though specific results from various researches vary according to gender, race, and ethnicity, this does not necessarily mean that one group has low mortality rates from the disease.
These deaths rates are so devastating among all groups of people (Mozaffarian 1602). For instance, on gender basis, many men die compared to women from heart disease though CVDF is still linked with one death per minute among women.
On the other hand, even scarier is the fact that these deaths are very premature. Currently, the live expectancy of American averages at 77.9 years. Heart attack greatly decreases this by about 15b years since there is a projection of 1.2 million every year, the reduction of life that is linked to CVD usually has an impact on the overall American lifespan (Pollan para. 9).
The good news is that CVD are by and large preventable conditions. Though there are several factors that pose the risk of susceptibility and fatality from CVDs, many of them are controllable. Though other factors including age, gender and genetics are not controllable, other factors can be modified by adopting a better living and healthy eating. These can hence greatly reduce occurrence of obesity, hypertension and physical inactivity. There is an estimated rate of 32.4% of American who are inactive at 20 years and above.
Even though the risk factors independently impact on possibilities of developing CVD and subsequently dying from it, CDC normally singles out elevated levels of Blood cholesterol and the occurrence of high blood pressure. Moreover, studies indicate that when blood cholesterol is lowered and hypertension reduced, then the risk of death from CVD also reduces considerably at a point rate of 12 to 13 reducing occurrence rates of heart disease by 21%.
Cholesterol reduction of 10% translates to reduce risk of CHD by 30%. Individual choices concerning what to eat, when to exercise and lifestyle basically impacts on the health of an individual in a positive or negative way; As such, cardiovascular imposes considerable social repercussions as well as economic losses for the entire society(Binkley et al. 1035).
For instance, the government expenditure on medication is likely to increase though the victims will be the ones spending more on their personal health like on home care or hospitalization. There will be reduced productivity which will impact on overall economy when people are sick or die from such health problems. Many People suffering from CVD imply that a pandemic has developed and the implications would be catastrophic for the entire America.
Cultural/Historical Analysis of the Problem
The existing hysteria concerning trans-fats was stimulated by researchers in 1950s by manufacturers concerning the cooking oils and the production of hydrogenated fat (Ali 79). This stemmed from the fact that doctors were suggesting reduction of consumption of cholesterol particularly the low-density lipoproteins otherwise commonly referred to as the LDL cholesterol since it was highly associated with occurrence of heat diseases.
Trans-fats contain mainly the bad type of fat that is, the LDL cholesterol and very little HDL’s. The dangers of trans-fats therefore become twofold by this virtue (Wellson 129). Though fast foods carries a number of good reasons themselves such as being tasty, easily available et cetera, their effects on the human health makes them a concern for the society. They carry with themselves diverse effects on the health of the consumers (Ali 79). To start with, fast foods and Trans fats specifically increase the risks of contracting cardiovascular disease.
Amid lots of criticism, McDonalds and other fast food shops opted to change the oil in the 1990s. The situation was more than challenging since McDonalds reverted to making fries of the same taste using tallow (Schlosser 67). Moreover, the firm was forced to introduce new ingredients.
This was also the beginning of food labeling since many of the firm’s products have labels indicating whether they contain artificial or natural flavors. Tests conducted indicate that the two flavors sold by McDonalds are very different. Since many industries producing fast foods do not label their products, many of these foods are perceived to be the cause of many health problems experienced by their users (Binkley et al. 1039).
Many children are known to have an heightened appetite for tasty foods and therefore they will end up consuming a lot of fast foods. This has been shown to be behind the increased incidences of obesity among many children in Western countries. Many restaurants including McDonalds have been criticized for selling foods that have high caloric contents. Adverts on fast foods have found their way into the children programs on television thereby leading increased consumption.
It’s pertinent to recognize that that increased monoculture in the current food system whereby corn and soy dominate the food stuffs if due to some governmental policies. The policies have shaped the emergency of this culture for several years.
The popularity of fast foods is hinged on a number of factors. Firstly, they are very appetizing and cheap. Secondly, they are readily accessible and convenient in terms of saving time. Studies indicate that consumption of two meals consisting of fast foods per week is very detrimental to one’s health.
This is due to the fact that one stands a higher chance of being obese than otherwise. For instance, a breakfast meal consisting of nuggets, burgers and fries is a risk factor in the development of obesity since these foods contain increased levels of simple sugars, salts such as sodium, oils and refined floors (Ali 79).
The cost of the organic food products became very high and it was the most common reason given by people for not purchasing fresh organic foods or grains when they visited their groceries. Having nothing else factored in this kind of mindset, it seems very fine. Basically, if it’s only the cost of that one bases on to make descriptions (Wellson 129).
A simple explanation is that healthy organic foods cost a little higher than the other foods at the time of purchasing. However assessing beyond this, then the notion get out of the reality. Health as a variable has to be considered. Essentially this is what was missing and has resulted in people suffering health wise (Ali 79).
To most of the Americans, fast food provides their only convenient satisfaction in hectic lives. They prefer fast food due to the fact they are easy to make, are tasty, and that they are readily available in restaurants everywhere. According to the Newshour Extra magazine, fast foods are a staple in the diets of most Americans (Mozaffarian 1602). Vending machines full of fast foods are common features in most schools in America.
For several years it was hard to introduce healthy food to the market. This led Sarah Hudson tells the Newshour Extra magazine that if companies produced healthy foods, no one would buy due to the presence of the fast foods. She continues that no one can get the time to think of what to eat when fast foods are there ready just waiting for you (Mozaffarian 1602). This simply cannot work. A study shows that on the average American usually takes at least two hamburgers every week
The Americans has failed to factor health in the cost of feeding themselves. For this they failed to recognize that the higher cost of getting healthy organic food initially is dwarfed by the expenses they incur throughout their lives seeking medication yet there was a very simple solution (Golanty & Gordon 333).
Its important to realize that the adoption of the western life where a meal would cost foods stuff with higher levels of sugars, salts and other chemicals have been the leading causers of the worse disease condition in America like diabetes, obesity, arthritis and heart disease.
Research Questions
Having adequate supply of healthy food to feed America is essential; as food is also a basic human right. Such rights are set to uphold human dignity. This is the reason why the government has to put in place measured that can be used to ensure that the nations feed on healthy food stuffs- Eating healthy means eating from a variety of sources that offer a balanced diet (Golanty & Gordon 333).
Can America change to use solar and manpower on their farms rather than the fossil fuels that are being used right now? Machines can be controlled to help curb mono-cropping but rather encourage mixed cropping.
Can American change their eating habits for healthy lives? The major step to take under management of the condition is to change the eating habits and increase the level of physical activities participation (Golanty & Gordon 333). In some adverse conditions the victims may be forced to undergo treatment by medication or surgery to reduce the weight. This can be done by reducing the adverse impact that trans-fats have on lives. Start by ensuring that they observe the dietary guide provides by Americas healthy eating guide.
Conclusion
Health experts and nutritionists propose that healthy eating should entail consumption of organic food products. These foods are said to have very minimal toxic substances because of the way they re produced. Synthetic toxins that usually get into plants during farming can have adverse impact on health. Organic foods pose lesser risk for such to take place. For healthy eating, American should change to organic foods rather than fast foods.
Works Cited
Ali, Fredrick. “Prevalence of Diabetes and Obesity – Related Health Risk Factors.” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 289, 2003, pp. 76–79.
Binkley, Kenny, et al. “The relation between dietary change and rising US obesity.” Change and Rising Obesity. International Journal of Obesity, vol. 24, no. 8, 2000, pp. 1032–39.
Bryan, Larry. “Optimal Diets to Prevent Heart Disease.” JAMA, vol. 289, no. 12, 2003, p. 1509.
Golanty, Eric and Gordon Edlin. Health and Wellness. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.
Mozaffarian, Dariush, et al. “Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease.” New Eng. J.Med., vol. 354, 2006, pp. 1601–13.
Pollan, Michael. “Food Rules: Your Dietary Dos and Don’ts.” The New York Times, Food Issue, 11 Oct. 2009, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/10/11/magazine/20091011-foodrules.html?.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side Of The All-American Meal, Part 10. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Wellson, Allison. Organic Agriculture in the U.S. Nova Science Publishers, 2003.
Wheelock, Verner. Implementing Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Eating. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.