Mary Maxfield What You Eat Is Your Business

928 Words4 Pages
“Nearly two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese, says the Surgeon General” (Hobbs). Many Americans practice unhealthy eating habits everyday by making choices as simple as getting an unhealthy snack or soda from a vending machine, or an unhealthy meal from McDonalds as opposed to eating fruit or a salad. These habits are also partly due to the fact that health is viewed more as a public issue, as opposed to a personal responsibility. In her essay “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating,” Mary Maxfield states, “The problem [with national health] is that our understanding of health is as based in culture as it is in fact” (444). In America today, the culture of obesity can be directly linked to poor dieting…show more content…
Many people blame fast food establishments for not properly displaying nutritional information on food, but as Americans it is our responsibility as an individual to look into what we are consuming and considering how it will affect us and our health. In his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko states, “we’re becoming less responsible for our own health, and more responsible for everyone else’s” (467). Americans find it easier to blame fast-food establishments, food marketing, and other factors in explanation for their bad health decisions. As Americans we need to take more personal responsibility when it comes to our eating habits. This can be as simple as researching foods that lack nutritional information on the package and keeping track of food intake. As a human being you should be able to tell how your eating habits are affecting your health as well as your weight without needing more “responsible” behavior from the food industry (Balko 466). This responsibility comes at the hands of the individual consuming the food, not the food…show more content…
As Balko mentions in “What You Eat Is Your Business,” there is also a lack of incentive for Americans to eat healthy. Some people do not feel the need to be health conscience in their everyday lives. The lack of initiative to change causes Americans to go for the most convenient, or in some cases, the better tasting meal as opposed to the most health conscience option. Also in many cases, Americans cannot afford to eat the foods they need in order to maintain a healthy diet. Sometimes people have to put aside personal health responsibility for economic
Show More
Related

  • Raley Balko's Essay 'What You Eat Is Your Business'

    537 Words  | 3 Pages

    matter in America, and in the articles Radley Balko, Judith Warner, and Mary Maxfield have wrote they explain how and why. As Americans when we go out to eat it is always a big decision to decide where people want to eat, but for most instead of a sit down meal its fast food. Many people know the risks of the food they consume, but they don’t care, why they don’t care is the real problem. In the article “What You Eat Is Your Business” by Radley Balko, the author points out that “We’re becoming less responsible

    Read More

More about Mary Maxfield What You Eat Is Your Business

Open Document