9th Grade Health

1. Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US? Explain the reasons for your opinion.

~I think fast food companies should not be held responsible. It is completely your own choice what you eat. Although they are a HUGE part of the problem, they still are just trying to make money like any other company. The United States of America has a high percentage of obese people. Wherever you go, there is always a fast food restaurant nearby. I think people just need to take control and be smart about what they eat.

2. Does your school provide healthy choices for a nutritious lunch? (Based on what you saw) What would you change about the school lunches to make them more healthy?

~Our school does provide a healthy lunch that meets most of the nutrition requirements. We do have vending machines that offer diet soda and its bad for you. Some of our food is greasy, but we don’t have it much and we have an alternative for some of our meals. Our school also normally provides a side of salad and many assortments of fruits and vegetables. Overall I think our school lunch is pretty healthy.

1. Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US? Explain the reasons for your opinion.

I do not think they should be held accountable for the obesity problem. Although they are the cause I wouldn’t say its their fault. People have a choice to eat fast food. The companies aren’t making people come and eat their food, they may make it seem good with their sighs and the addictive stuff in the foods, people still have a choice to go and eat their foods.

2. Does your school provide healthy choices for a nutritious lunch? (Based on what you saw) What would you change about the school lunches to make them more healthy?

My school doesn’t really give you a choice in what to eat, but we are under a Alaskan rule so I would guess that it is decently nutritious. They do give you veggies and fruits. They don’t feed us junk food and they don’t only sell sugar drinks and there not that many kinds of soda in the vending machines. I would have them give you the choice of eating bananas or apples or oranges, but other than that they are okay.

Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US? Explain the reasons for your opinion.

I personally think that it is completely ridiculous for somebody to hold a food company responsible for their own weight problem. They chose to eat there, and I’m sure they knew the risks of eating this food. It’s pretty much common knowledge that fast food is VERY unhealthy. These people who sued McDonalds probably were not exercising at all, or eating anything healthy at home. If they were really worried about their health, they would ask about the nutrition facts, and try to watch their weight and what they eat. If somebody gets fat, it’s nothing but their own fault.

Do you believe that people can have food addictions?  Why or why not.

I do believe that people can have food addictions. In Supersize Me, they were talking about a drug that made them not want the food, which was something that they used on people who were addicted to drugs like heroin. They were basically saying that food has the same addictive qualities that drugs have. I think the best way to keep from getting addicted to bad foods is to not eat them at all.

1. Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US? Explain the reasons for your opinion.

No because people have a choice in what they want to eat. Blaming fast food companies for obesity is like blaming alcohol for alcoholics. I mean everybody has a decision and if you chose to eat fast food then it is your own fault if you are over-weight. But I still believe that the restaurants must tell people of the dangers in fast food. It is something that needs to be addressed more often in restaurants.

4. Do you believe that people can have food addictions?  Why or why not.

Yes I believe in the idea of an addiction to food. It seems like a much more common addiction among people like a drug so to speak. There are many reasons people can become addicted to food depression,because it tastes good, something to occupy your time and the list can go on. But the only problem with a food addicting is that  nobody realizes that it is a serious problem. Because I haven’t ever heard of a food rehab yet.

Question one.– I think that all of the fast food companies in the country should be mostly held responsible for the obesity problem in the U.S.A. When there was no fast food places, most people would eat at home and then they had control over what they ate and how much. You eat healthier at home then in a fast food restaurant because most if not all of your food is not cooked in fat. The reason that I say that the companies should be held mostly responsible for the obesity problem is because most Americans do not work out very much if not at all anymore. You should always work off the calories that you put on so that you can stay fit and healthy. It also helps the obesity problem. This is my conclusion to question one about whether or not fast food companies should be held responsible for the obesity problem in the U.S.A.

question four.– I believe that people can have food addictions. With all of the sugars and high fructose corn syrup that are in almost everything that we eat and drink, it is a wonder that not everybody is addicted to something. The chemicals that are also in the foods that we eat might be addictive, so people become addicted to certain foods. I think that if you become addicted to a certain food, you should seek help and try to stay away from that particular food or group of foods. This is the end of my explanation of why I think that people can have food addictions.

1.) Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US? Explain the reasons for your opinion.

I don’t think that the fast food companies should be held responsible for people being obese. It’s really the person’s fault if they are obese or not because they are the ones that have control over what they eat, how they eat, and how much they eat. The fast food places really are just there. It’s the person’s choice to enter and eat what they’re selling, so you can’t blame the companies. The companies do try to persuade people to eat their food, but they don’t force them to.

2.) Do you believe that people can have food addictions?  Why or why not.

Yes, I do think that people can have food addictions. Anyone can get addicted to pretty much anything, so I think it’s very possible for people to be addicted to food. It’s just as bad as being addicted to drugs and alcohol. A person who is addicted to food might feel like it’s the only thing that they can turn to or they just feel like they need to eat and eat. There are plenty of reasons as to why a person could be addicted to food.

What can be done to help solve the obesity epidemic in the US?

I think if they advertise more healthy food in TV, the message towards making healthy choices and living a healthy life can be sent out to more people. Making programs that are based to teach people how they can maintain a healthy and happier life style may inspire someone to change their ways. Another strategy is to show people many other varieties of food. That way, they won’t be so dependable on fast food restaurants. If it was possible, I think eradicating fast food restaurants may do the trick. But, since they have become nearly invincible, it’s impossible. I think it would help if they make their food healthier by using organic ingredients. I don’t think anything has to be artificial and have so much preservative to make it taste good. Natural is always better for your overall health.

Do you believe that people can have food addictions? Why or why not?

I personally don’t believe in the word addiction. On my opinion, it’s all in your mind and choices. We have control over our lives, and what ever we do. I like to think that the way we act is influenced by our personality and our likes and dislikes. Obviously, if food was the only way to cope with whatever situation, then it would be something we would always be coming back to. If it gave someone a sense of comfort, it would become his or her way to stay sane. I think that, if they really wanted to stop, they could do it. It won’t be easy since it’s it may be something you formed a bond with.

1. Should fast food companies be held responsible for the obesity problem in the US? Explain the reasons for your opinion.

I don’t think that fast food companies should be held responsible. They are there and do serve the food and stuff, but it’s the people’s choice to go there and eat. If you didn’t want to be unhealthy or unfit, then you wouldn’t go and eat there. People are responsible for their actions and they need to buck up and take more responsibility instead of blaming it on fast food companies. If you don’t want to be obese then don’t eat so much fast food or whatever you’re eating or doing to be obese. It’s your problem, not their’s.

4. Do you believe that people can have food addictions?  Why or why not.

I do believe that people can have food addictions. People can be addicted to anything, really. The show My Strange Addictions has many different addictions from foods to house cleaner to tanning. I think that addiction is the REAL epidemic today, not the measles or the mumps, or obesity. People can become addicted in no time at all, or over time. Like smoking, it’s hard to stop, because you feel like you need it, among other things that are addicting.  Maybe that’s why there’s obesity and no one feels like they can help it. Maybe it’s because America’s addicted to food.

1. Fast food companies should not be held to blame for obesity problems.  They shouldn’t because first of all if the food makes you fat don’t eat there.  People have a choice between eating something healthy or eating something bad for them.  And for the kids that are obese its the parents to blame.  The parents are the ones overfeeding them or taking them to McDonalds.  So really it is the persons fault.

4. I do believe people can get addicted to food.  From what I can see when people get depressed or when someone is going through hard times they start drinking, smoking or eating a lot the most.  So its almost like a stress reliever for some people.  And for the people that ate a lot when they were kids, and when they eat certain foods like cheeseburgers or ice cream it brings back memories.

2. Does your school provide healthy choices for a nutritious lunch? (Based on what you saw) What would you change about the school lunches to make them more healthy?
I do not think that our school serves as healthy lunches as it could and they should have the nutritional facts of the lunches it serves.

4. Do you believe that people can have food addictions? Why or why not.
I do believe that people can have food addictions, I believe this because sometimes all people do is eat all the time and never stop.