Should governments ban junk food and soft drinks from schools to tackle childhood obesity?
446829
They should, but parents should take a greater role in educating their children about food and controlling what they eat.\nPeople like to blame everyone else but themselves for their faults.
616070
I radically believe Ayurvedic medicine and TCM should be incorporated into western medicine mental health care systems. \nI radically believe all products that read NO ADDED SUGAR on their packaging should also read CONTAINS ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS in the same size letters and also that monosodium glutamate should be banned.\nI also radically believe that every politician should have some sort of degree in humanities as opposed to all of them being business people or lawyers.\nAnd radical enough to want to address the issue of obese children by making child obesity equal to child abuse and force the parents to address their own obesity in some way so to ensure a healthier adulthood for their children.
255440
Food consumption has gone global. ppl eat more bcoz they hav so many things to choose from and also these things are very cheap. Packaged products etc has caused cases like obesity to rise. When ts bringing more employment, its also bringin a health crisis.
1029390
I say that maybe it could somehow be limited or regulated but it would be difficult to do fairly in my mind. I agree with the fact that things like alcohol and tabacco are regulated because they affect people not even choosing to do them though.\n\nReally, I think it would harm us more than hurt us. I'm scared that so many people don't want to take responsiblity for their own actions. If you can't regulate what you eat and how you take care of yourself, what are you capable of? Our own selves come first no matter who you are so that's a scary thing to think that we need a higher power telling us what we can and can't eat to keep healthy. People should learn to take care of themselves and have a little will power and sense of moderation. \n\nBesides that, think of the other things society will just get "lazy" about. Pretty soon we'll need laws to regulate what people wear because they won't have the sense to do it themselves. And, further down the line, maybe more important decisions in life will no longer be solvable for your average person in society because we have depended on someone else to do things the right way.\n\nI just saw an article about how Bill Clinton is going to try and ban the sweets and sodas from schools. I agree that maybe it should be regulated *on the school level* because sometimes kids don't make the best choices and they should have more in front of them than just mostly sodas. However, to ban those things completely wouldn't teach them how to properly choose for themselves. Sure, they would only drink juices or whatever at school, but when they get out of school how good are they going to be at actually understanding what's good for them and what's not and how to enjoy things in moderation?\n It just seems like taking away the fact of a kid or anybody having to choose between two things also takes away the growth of problem solving, being responsible for yourself and making wise decisions out of reason.
856500
Maybe not forced but encouraged. If you only have healthy food around and keep the sweets minimal then good eating habits will come naturally. For children who already have bad eating habits it can take some work on getting them to eat correctly but when they get hungry enough they will eat what ever you put infront of them. I run a daycare and I keep the sweets out. Children at first complain that I don't have the chips and sweets they are used to but after a while I hear the parents comments on how they can no longer keep fruit and vegetables stocked in their homes. I have taught the children that good eating can be better and sweeter (if cooked correctly) then candy and junk food. It has gone a long way.
408284
One example is corn. Agriculture was big in the US. Our land had room for an abundance of crops. Corn is a huge government subsidy. Corn starch is in many processed foods. It's cheap.\n\nMarketing is also something that's hard for us to hide from. There have been case studies in which a certain country (I forget which country) doesn't allow commercials during children's programming. The result? Kids have less of an urge to want. They don't crave Happy Meals, and they eat a lot healthier.\n\nIn the US, because we have so many freedoms, people feel as if they're entitled to be whatever they want to be, even if what they are is unhealthy. People also want to be kind to fat people and encourage them by saying "It's ok to be overweight. There's just more of you to love." Plus size clothing stores are nice because they cater to overweight people. But do they, at the same time, encourage them to lose weight? No. They'd lose money and wouldn't be in the business. In the US we just find ways to get around things and be lazy.\n\nI'm not saying fat people don't exist anywhere else. But whenever I go to a theme park or a mall, I am disgusted by the fact that many people don't care about their health. Again, because we have freedoms, they can be fat if they want to be. But what are they teaching future generations to be?
951974
The Principal of my kids primary school has banned all junk food at breaktime, only water and fruit or healthy snacks allowed. She started this in September and says the concentration and behavior of the children up until lunchtime has noticibly improved!\n\nSo i have to say if it is calming disruptive children then Im all for it.
1000557
even if you look fit, eating junk food does not keep you fit or healthy.  your heart, brain, blood, liver, kidney, etc will all be suffering from your poor choices.
97731
yeah i think they should because a lot of people r getting bigger. they avertize foods that make u big and not how to loose weight. i dont think that makes sence.
524815
No...1,0000's of people watch TV and are not obese.\n\nJunk food and binging on snack food in between Meals causes obesity.\nThe wide availability and home delivery services causes these problems.\nI would say that Computer games would be more directly the likely cause of this.\nThere is less obesity in countries where children still play outside and enjoy fresh air and do not have access to computer games.\n\n1.Society,modernization,technology and the way we live causes it.\n\n2.Less and less mothers cook 2 good square meals a day\nthis is due to most have careers and don't have time.\n\n3.children from an early age have money to spend on junk food.Which is deliberately aimed and priced with them in mind.\n\n5.Junk food Restaurants are cleverly situated near to schools,therefore being accessible on the way to school, lunch time and on the way home.\n\n6.Children would prefer to eat a fat ridden, MSG product(that has a free toy) than something(meat and 2 veg) there mother prepares.\n\n7.Tiredness,laziness and the busy schedule we all have doesn't help.\n\ncorporate merchandising, franchising and brain washing causes obesity in children
87121
I believe that malnutrition and overnutrition ARE health problems. Another impact that obesity may have on society is the absolute predjudice that people so casually express about overweight people...even in the workplace! How hurtful that is! It must make quite a negative effect on our society - which frankly is mostly made up of overweight people.
358506
I truly believe that the mass amounts of processed foods and beverages we are giving children harms their development in many ways.  Watch "Super Size Me" and you will see the evidence of the harmful effects these foods have on everyone.  \nAlso, Don't be fooled by foods in the grocery store.  Many boxed, bagged and frozen items also contain some kind of chemicals to preserve their flavor or shelf life.
283339
Basic, nutritious, unprocessed food is not expensive. If children go hungry, it is because their lazy parient/s spend money on smokes, booze, drugs and gambling.
560635
Here in the Uk we recently had a big thing called 'Jamie's school dinners' it was by a TV chef called Jamie Oliver who is famous in UK. He started a campign to improve the food served in schools. The UK government tried to improve this for years but Jamie did it in just a matter of months! He really raised the profile of the campaign because he is a famous face and not a politician. What Jamie did was instead of forcing vegetables down kids throats he educated them about good food. he went into the classes and took some of their favourate foods and then showed them the ingredients that went into them. Most of these foods that the kids loved were made up of re-formed meat and the bits the butchers threw away. When the kids saw the junk that was in these foods (which was gross by the way) the kids were automatically making better choices at lunchtime. Jamie also gave the school lunch staff great ideas to disguise good food as more fun. He also discovered that the government was spending less on each child's school dinner than on the average UK Prisoner's food! The problem is not completely solved here in UK but it really brought the public's attention to it and most schools have had some sort of change in their menus.
649586
The term 'Junk food' is applied too broadly, and that is the problem with its current useage.\n\nWe should eat less processed food and more food with good quality, fresh ingredients. Foods high in sugars and fats, flavourings and colourings, and that have little nutritional value should be avoided. But even those foods can be eaten as long as they are part of a balanced diet.
114516
I 100% agree with you. Especially the dieting industries with their pills and nonsense would lose ALOT of money if a cure for obesity was revealed.
176382
ten-year old children shouldn't "diet."  They should eat well and exercise -- just like everyone else should!