Michael Khoury

Khoury, 1

Engl. 115
Professor Altman
9-29-14
to be or not to be healthy
When was the last time you ate something unhealthy? When was the last time you
planned on eating healthy but didnt? When was the last time you saw a commercial for
something healthy? 30% of all new cases of diabetes are type 2. These may not seem
related at all, but they are more related than you would think. The causes of the outbreak,
of type 2 diabetes in our nation, are the unhealthy habits we have developed in our daily
lives. Our governments current strategy to assist us in becoming healthier is not working
out. In order for the nation to become healthier as a whole the government must introduce
new methods to assist us as a nation in becoming healthier by: changing the governments
standards when it comes to being unhealthy, introducing healthy habit advertisements and
programs, providing insurance incentives, and changing legislation on the issue of healthful
living.
The article entitled Being Fat is Ok, by Paul Campos, argues that our governments
current method of measuring weather someone is unhealthy is through BMI or body mass
index, which is you height relative to your weight. Campos argues that this is an ineffective
way of measuring healthiness. He is considered overweight despite the fact that he runs
35 to 40 miles a week, but since he is 58 and weighs 168 pounds he is, by our
governments standards, overweight. Clearly Mr. Campos is not unhealthy due to his
habitual exercising. This is a prime example of the misconception we are receiving from the

government. They pose standards that are almost impossible to reach and yet they are the
expected standard of health our nation should be following. This seems to have the
opposite reaction on the masses than what would be expected. Rather than being
motivated to meet these standards of being healthy as the government sees people become
unmotivated because they feel that reaching those standards are out of reach. Mr. Campos
claims he is a healthy man; yet by government standards he is not. The government should
remove the BMI entirely from all health standards because it fails to take any individual
conditions into account and rather have a more comprehensive way of measuring physical
health. Our government can still be productive in promoting other ways to become
healthier.
Media, this word ranges from social to personal. Media is key in this modern day
economy. Its how companies get their name out and how people get their product known.
Yet, it could also be a way to get the country to be healthier. In What You Eat Is Your
Business, by Radley Balko, he argues that media companies are starting healthy-living
campaigns and they attempted to get our government to support this campaign. Balko
writes in 2004, This June, Time magazine and ABC News will host a three-day summit on
obesity. The media has supported the health campaign for a while now. He later writes in
the article that President George Bush earmarked $200 million for the campaign in 2004. It
seems that was the extent of the governments assistance in the campaign. There hasnt
been much heard of it until the current first lady, Michelle Obama, started a campaign to get
kids to become more active and eat healthier. If the government did get behind this they
could have stretched this through a wider range of media. It has been proven that people
respond to media. This has been proven through mainly focus groups. Advertisements

wouldnt be released first without being tested with focus groups. If these advertisements
did reach the American public they would think about is if not act on it. Once the public has
acted on this they should be getting healthier so they would have to use less medical
resources
Along with using less medical resources comes with lower medical bills and less
dependence on insurance companies. The article What You Eat Is Your Business
discusses insurance companies and how they do not offer benefits for healthful living.
Rather, they penalize all for those who dont live healthfully. Balko writes, Were becoming
less responsible for our own health and more responsible for everyone elses. Because of
this there is a disregard for heath. If we made those responsible for their actions when it
comes to insurance premiums they would want to become healthier. This is just like buying
a new car versus having a car given to you. Those who but their own car would take good
care of it and make sure every thing on it is working just as well as the day they bought it.
Versus those who were given the car; they would just let the car slowly fall apart with a
slight disregard for the condition of the car. Like the car, if people were responsible for
their own insurance premiums they would become more health-conscious and insurance
companies would be able to lower the premium because of the lower cost of their health
bills. Insurance companies can only lower premiums if people take initiative first.
We may not change our daily lives on our own, but with assistance form our
government we would be more inclined to. In the article entitled Junking Junk Food, by
Judith Warner, Warner speaks of WWII when the departments of agriculture and health
and human services were formed to make our country healthier and to ration food for our
troops overseas. They were effective in doing both by advertising as if it were solely for the

war effort. This was changing American food culture with people being more conscious of
their choices of food. Warner writes, The food rationing programs of WWII recognized this
political-cultural-emotional scheme. Because of this, our country was at one of its zeniths
in health in its history. Sadly, though, after the war the war the departments were
terminated and the country reverted back to an even unhealthier time, which has been
getting worse over the years. We can get back to the healthfulness during the war by
revitalizing these programs but extrapolating the methods used then and modifying them
for a more modern cause. When we do this we can bring the U.S. back to its greatest time in
its history.
There is an epidemic in our country, obesity. Obesity is the latest social enemy we
are fighting today and it is a fight we can win through many different ways. But, the best
place to start is our government and its legislation. If they change the standard of health
and fitness the people who are considered obese under the current standards wouldnt be
anymore and this alone would lower the obesity rates in the U.S. For those who would still
be considered obese under the new standards there could be programs to help them to
become healthier. These programs would be focused on face-time with dietitians and
doctors so they could see what they could do to get healthier. Then once people are
becoming healthier insurance companies could lower their premiums for them. Finally, the
government could revitalize programs from the time of WWII, which was proven to be
extremely effective. This is the future of our country, we need to take action in order for us
to have a brighter and healthier future. We need to keep healthy to see our childrens
children. So, its not to late to make a change for the better and theres no better time to
start than now.

Works Cited
Balko, Radley What You Eat Is Your Business 2004: 3. Internet
Campos, Paul Being Fat Is Ok Jewish World Review 2001: 2. Internet
Warner, Judith Junking Junk Food. Printed book