From Your Health Journal…..”I love when I find new web sites like the one today called ‘Reason’ – which discusses Americans supporting Food Freedoms. With obesity on the rise, and many people suffering from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, bone degeneration, and other health related problems, the government is concerned about health care in the future, as so many individuals may need help staying healthy as they get older. With the economy already in a bad spot, this would hurt it even more. In some countries, the government has stepped in to tax junk foods and limit the amount of junk foods purchased. In America, a study was conducted and found that Americans oppose food bans by a 5-1 margin. Furthermore, when asked whether maintaining a healthy weight was something “the whole community, including the schools, government, health care providers, and the food industry should deal with,” less than one-third of respondents favored that approach, while 52 percent stated this was “something individuals should deal with on their own.” The study reveals 97 percent of respondents believe the most likely cause of obesity is sedentary inactivity related to “TV, video game[s] and computer[s].” The author of this article, Baylen Linnekin did a wonderful job explaining this story, and I highly recommend your visiting the ‘Reason’ web site (link provided below) to read the complete article.”
From the article…..
A new poll finds Americans oppose food bans by a 5-1 margin and food taxes by a 2-1 margin. Supporters of food freedom should take note—and maybe even a victory lap.
A new poll finds Americans have little stomach “for policies that would constrain consumer choices…such as limits on the amount or type of food that can be purchased or taxes on unhealthy foods or drinks.”
The national poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, released last week by the Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago, contains several “[s]ignificant findings” that bolster the case for food freedom.
Respondents expressed universal opposition to food bans and taxes. While opposition to bans on marketing “unhealthy foods aimed at children” only trumped support slightly, opponents of taxing those same foods outnumbered supporters by a nearly 2-1 margin, and those who opposed “[l]imiting the types or amounts of foods and drinks people can buy” outnumbered supporters of food bans by a startling 5-1 margin (74 percent to 15 percent).
Furthermore, when asked whether maintaining a healthy weight was something “the whole community, including the schools, government, health care providers, and the food industry should deal with,” less than one-third of respondents favored that approach, while 52 percent stated this was “something individuals should deal with on their own.”
The study reveals 97 percent of respondents believe the most likely cause of obesity is sedentary inactivity related to “TV, video game[s] and computer[s].”
While I don’t claim to know the root cause(s) of obesity, this strong belief among respondents that Americans are obese because we sit on our butts too much has been echoed by research. For example, in a 2005 article in the Annual Review of Public Health, “Economic Causes and Consequences of Obesity,” researcher Eric Finkelstein and his colleagues looked at the results of four previous obesity studies and found “[t]he published evidence, although not conclusive, suggests that technology may be primarily responsible for the obesity epidemic.”
To read the full article…..Click here