Sirawit Yumuang
UN 1015 R22
Instructor S. Galliah
September 12, 2013
Summarize: From the blog "What you eat is your business"by Radley Balko
This blog published in May, 23, 2004, on Cato.org, a site sponsored by Cato Institute. In this blog to ABC News, Balko mainly declare that one of the very important factors that will cause obesity in America is people personal responsibility. Balko indicated that most of the people in America that became obesity are causing by their lifestyle choices such as what people choose to eat during the day, some people choose to exercises but some are never do exercises. So he mainly complain on people responsibility that have to taking a good care of their self because no one can really help or stopping you from what you want to do. Furthermore this problem, the obesity in America cannot be blame on other factors such as there are not enough bike trails or sidewalks for people to exercises, or not enough information on food labels in fast food restaurant. Balko thinks that from the situation the government should be aware of people personal responsibility more than other public healthcare.
In contrast to Balko blog publication, the blog "Don't blame the eater" by David Zinczenko
This blog published in the New York Times on November 23, 2002. Zinczenko indicated that government should be aware and taking more serious about public health. For example, the government should make all of the fast food restaurant adding more about information on the labels of food then people will get to know what they are eating or what are they going to order, Zinczenko trusted that by this solution it will help people be more careful in lifestyle choices as well as decrease the number of people who will become obesity in America. Further more as you can see from the data, before 1994 people in America that became diabetes most of them are type 1 and that is what we call genetic disordered of the most part, at the same time only about 5 percent of all the cases are type 2 diabetes that is obesity-related, but now the percentage of people in America that became type 2 diabetes is increasing much more than the pass, the number of type 2 diabetes rise up to about 30 percent of all the cases. Zinczenko also ensure by using one of the fast food restaurant example, McDonald's is the number one and most popular fast food restaurant in America, there are more than 13,000 McDonald's in America, so we will be able to find McDonald's mostly everywhere we go because there are so many of them and this is why it is very difficult for people to ignore and avoid McDonald's or other fast food restaurants.
Response: In my point of view I would agree with Balko blog "What you eat is your business" but I am also agree in some parts of Zinczenko blog "Don't blame the eater", I am agree with both of them because of some reasons. First I am agree to Balko because I think that in America we would have to focus more on people responsibility and I don't think we can blame everything on the restaurants or facilities. For example, by the government making the sides walk or trails for people to do some exercises will help nothing to decrease number of obesity in America if people not decide to come out to using all of those facilities that government prepare for them, also by increase or add some of the information on the foods label will not help anything if people choose not to read and choose to order something that they like, and only care about to eat something that tasted good. So from these reasons at this point I am strongly agreed with Balko.
Secondly the Zinczenko blog, I am agree with some parts in the blog of Zinczenko because sometimes we cannot always blame on the eater, as we can see from the number of fast food restaurants increasing these years, for example McDonald's that now we can find everywhere, at least once or twice a week people would probably go to eat at fast food restaurant. I think would be a very good idea if the government can decrease the number of fast food restaurants in every town or slow down the rate of increasing in fast food restaurants at least, because if people don't have fast food as their every day choices of meal then that would helping to decrease obesity in America.
After all even I am agree with Zinczenko in the most parts but anyway it is going to come back to Balko as everything is all depend on personal responsibility, because even there are so many fast food restaurants around you at one point so you really have to eat in the fast food restaurant but I think you still can show the responsibility in yourself by choosing something that is not too bad for your body and I trusted that most of the fast food restaurants now they all try to bring up or starting to offer people a healthier meal because they know a lot of people care about their health.
To be conclude I think all the people in America need to have responsibility in making a good decision in what they are going to eat or what they are going to do in their every day life.
