Question

Many chronic diseases are linked to diet and lifestyle behaviors. There have been many proposed solutions to dealing with this problem. Please state your opinion on these 3 proposals; don’t just answer “yes” or “no,” provide some background and reasons for supporting your opinion. Use facts to back up your position.

1) Diabetes and heart disease combined kill more Americans than any other disease. Both of these diseases are strongly linked to obesity. Based on these facts, would you support a law that limits soft drink serving to 16 ounces and limits all candy bars to 1.5-ounce servings?

2) Would you be in favor of a law that requires everyone (children too) to get a physical from their family physician every year?

3) Would you be in favor of a 2% federal tax on all fast food, soft drink, and candy sales if the proceeds of that tax would go directly into a fund to pay for the cost of every American receiving a once per year physical exam?

Answer 1

1) Yes, I would support a law that limits drink serving to 16 ounces and limits all candy bars to 1.5-ounce servings because we have a high rate of obesity and other chronic diseases. The first intention of such laws is to aware all people about their physical safety and diseases. Although, there's a catch that whoever likes candy bars and soft drinks will still consume the smaller servings and buy more number of units.

2)No, a law shouldn't be there requiring everyone to get a physical annually. Although physical can help physicians catch difficult-to-spot problems associated with sexually transmitted diseases, mental health, and substance abuse but it's upto the individual to decide whether to have a physical because the annual physical is too often a formality that siphons time and money from the healthcare system without offering definitive improvements for patients in return, says a professor at Dartmouth Medical School. These physical feature unnecessary tests, such as blood cell counts and urinalysis, that cost more than $350 million per year and that haven't been shown to improve health outcomes.

c) Yes, if there;s a federal tax on all fast food, soft drinks and candy sales and the proceeds of the tax go directly into a pay for the cost of every American receiving a physical, then it's a boon. Since, the last answer explains that a physical annually costs quite a lot, many people are reluctant to go and get their physical done. But while they are consuming fast food, soft drinks and candy, they are indirectly paying for their own physical in form of that tax.