Anonymous(30-35)+1 yAbsolutely not. That limits quality of life in terms of enjoyment. My friends and I like to go out to local ice cream shops, chocolate shops, bakeries, etc. to try new things, all sweet goodies that have little to no nutritional value and are packed with sugar and yummy carbs. In this country we are supposed to value freedom, to a certain extent. Not only would you be infringing on my rights and freedoms to live as I choose, but also on my right to eat certain foods that are not healthy, that are specific to my religious and cultural traditions and my own individual lifestyle. Food is a huge part of culture, and if you start telling people that all junkfood, as defined as food with no nutritional benefits, food that will make you unhealthy if you eat it in excess on a regular basis, then you start suggesting that the government has control over constructing or reconstructing cultural traditions and foods that have been around for years. While I do think certain cultural aspects should be subject to legal intervention, food is not one of them. sorry.
i think fast food restaurants, specifically, should be taxed more. its very similar to cigarettes. I hate smoking, I think its disgusting, but I believe in freedom so I'm not going to tell an adult that he/she should not be allowed to smoke at all. However, it is reasonable to limit public exposure (i.e. don't f***ing smoke in front of my building, on certain private properties, etc.) and to tax the sh*t out of them ciggies. I wouldn't feel bad if someone had to pay 7 dollars instead of one dollar for a cheeseburger or fries, just as I don't at all feel bad when my smoking friends complain that the cost of cigarettes has gone up. If you are addicted and don't seek out help for what could end up in a health risk for you, then that's your business. I don't care if they charge you 30 bucks a pack for cigarettes. Its disgusting and is linked to cancer. tax that sh*t all day. its similar with fast food, especially since mega businesses like McDonald's can offer poorer people so much for such a little cost. There needs to be a change there, however, you can't just eliminate an entire market that is already extremely lucrative. its anti-capitalist, and whether or not you believe in the values of capitalism is irrelevant. its a reality. so make the food more expensive.
also there needs to be more educational outreach for families in poor areas. most of my family members live in the ghettos and projects of this country so you're not telling me anything I don't already see on a regular basis when I go to visit them. there need to be community programs, education about nutrition and health, I don't know, f***ing school field trips to farmers markets in the city. You have to teach people, you can't just infringe on my right to eat what I want just because one class of people is especially suffering. stop being a lazy ass and create effective programs to educate people and create a culture of knowledge.42 Reply
Opinion Owner+1 yalso, depending on how you define it, alcohol for the most part would probably also fall under the category of junkfood, especially mixed drinks and cocktails. I don't think most people would be willing to give that up. I'm not. :)
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"That limits quality of life in terms of enjoyment." Bye bye to the pursuit of happiness.
Most Helpful Opinions
+1 yNo way. Why don't you think about who the junk food companies are employing. Factories are places that employ many people, many of whom do not go past high school. If you look at it this way, then some underprivleged people get all the money they have from these junk food companies. Also, if you know anything about econ, what makes things expensive are the input costs, (so for example if egg costs are rising, so are cake costs), and the amount of demand for goods (& services). Businesses want to maximize their profit, which is partly why junk food is cheap. Many people don't want it, and those that can afford it won't buy junk food, and the input costs are less. If you erased junk foods, you would increase the competition for other foods, because there is scarcity of all goods. The prices of these now scarce goods would increase because companies can get more money for them, and therefore they will charge as much as they can get. So, in reality, getting rid of junk food would hurt more than it would help. Don't bother suggesting we put price ceilings on our goods either. If that is done, then good wil go to the places where the companies can get the most money, which won't be here. Therefore there will be no food, and we will have descended into communism.
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People have to eat, so there will always be jobs in the food industry, regardless of the quality of food produced. The cigarette industry employs many, but it also does a great deal of harm to many. By this logic, if junk food were erased, there would be less mindless eating/gorging, so goods/resources would increase. The ingredients in junk food (minus many manufactured chemicals) could go toward healthier options. More minimally processed foods would decrease the input costs you mentioned, and improve the environment, as well.
+1 yAGREE! I was just taalking to my friend about this the other day. Junk food is killing our country. People wonder why so many others are obese and get heart attacks. Aswer: food. Look at history people! countries start to fall when unhealthy food and leisure time creeps into their daily life. Our food is crap. The average flour you would buy at the average grocery store has absolutely no nutritional value. Even the expensive stuff you buy from health food stores has been genetically modified over the years into something virtually devoid of nutrients. That is why I don't eat gluten anymore. If fact, I don't eat any grains whatsoever. My diet consists of raw nuts, organic fruits and vegtables, cage free organic eggs, and organic grass fed meat. Yes, its expensive but totally worth it. If you eat all the crap our country thinks is acceptable than your just trying to kill yourself. I could rant on but I doubt anyone will listen to me because the listen to htier bellies not their heads, which is why America is falling in the world. Ask me if you have any questions about eating healthier- I may only be 16 but I've done a lot of research.
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+1 yBecause what the public views as "junk food" isn't unhealthy. Over eating is unhealthy.
Millions of healthy (in fact the healthiest of people) athletes, including Mike Phelps (Olympic Medalist and arguably the best swimmer ever) eat McDonalds.
How can they be so healthy, and so talented eating food that causes serious health problems!?!? Duh! they can't. Because then the person eating berries and nuts would always win, but -- guess what -- they don't.
So is it the food? Or is it your eating habit? Stop looking for a scapegoat. Fat people are fat, because they either don't care, or they're incapable of managing their eating habits. No one says you have to eat 5,000 calories of McDonalds when you eat there. That's your choice! You can get fat eating 5,000 calories of anything when not exercising. Including tomatoes! And are tomatoes unhealthy? How about carrots? Or salads? It's not the foods fault that it tastes so good you over indulge yourself every time.
Science has proved over and over weight gain and loss is decided by one sole factor... energy input versus energy output. Obesity (which I'm pretty sure is the major health problem we're talking about) isn't caused by anything other than higher calorie intake than output. Which is why thousands of people have lost weight with a 1,400 calorie McDonalds diet. And why thousands of people have gained weight with a 4,000 calorie diet at McDonalds.
Your knowledge of so called junk food is formed by the media which feeds you their junk until you are convinced of it. If anything, "factual" news should be illegal if not backed up by clear, supportive, scientific experiments.
What are you going to say next? High fat foods make you fat and you should stick to carbs?
You want a debate, but there is absolutely nothing to debate here. The average American consumes 4,000+ calories a day, yet do you think the average American workouts enough to counter act that? No. The result is obesity. Has nothing to do with the quality of the food. And I'm pretty sure food that is truly unhealthy is already illegal for you (e.g. people who get salmonella poisoning have strong court cases against the manufacturing companies and the FDA finds any malpractice they get shut down).
You can be more healthy with nutritionally dense foods, yes. But you can be even more healthy with calorie dense foods (McDonalds) combined with daily exercise. Your "junk food" is my healthy food. I need the calorie intake, because unlike the majority of people I care about my health enough to workout and thus need calorie dense foods.
Yum yum McDonalds. Taste good and fuels my workouts.84 Reply- +1 y
best answer I think! who cares if its over 140 characters?! why the hell are you counting anyways? he got his point across and it makes total sense. I'm thinking Marik should STFU.
Hell No! I love my KFC.
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Youre a hypocrite jimmy217, first you say junk food should be outlawed and yet you give this guy best answer? Really? You're an idiot, you completely missed your own point.
What Girls & Guys Said
Opinion
48Opinion
I read that there was a movement to treat sugar like a controlled substance, much like alcohol and cigarettes. I find it doubtful that anything will come of it though it would be great if they had warning labels. I think the average person does not realize the power that sugar, and even sugar substitutes, have on appetite. I found out about 10 years ago how powerful it was. I stopped eating simple carbs (basically sugary items with no fiber) in the morning and afternoon about 10 years ago and was shocked at how much my hunger went down.
I would sometimes start off the day eating something ridiculous like a candy bar or piece of pie (yes, ridiculous). I was thin, so I did not think much of it. But, within about an hour I would be starving hungry. When I changed it up and started eating complex carbs (breads high in fiber or fruit with yogurt and nuts) in the morning and throughout the day, my hunger pangs were gone. Sure, I can tell it is time to eat, but I don't have this gnawing urgency to eat something quickly.
I notice that some friends who have weight problems are diet soda junkies. I have seen some studies that say that fake sugar just sets your body in motion waiting for the calories it expects from real sugar, and when it doesn't happen, you end up very hungry and eat more than you would if you had not had the sugar substitute. I have to say that I do see some people who are absolute fiends for diet drinks and they are not skinny. Hmmm.20 Reply
+1 yWhat I think should be outlawed are idiots trying to tell me how to live my life.
If I want to eat a twinkie, I'm gonna eat a twinkie. If I wanna eat a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Large sized, then I'm going to eat it.
It's nobody else's business what I eat and what I don't eat. I have a job, pay for my own health costs, and am responsible for myself. I don't need a nanny state telling me what I can and cannot do. Ultimately I am responsible for the choices I make in my life, not you. I have to live with the consequences to the choices I have made.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
Thousands of men died to defend this idea, so elloquently stated in the US Declaration of Independence. This idea was very radical back in those days, as most governments believed that your rights were given to you by the Government as it saw fit. The Founding Fathers firmly believed, just as I do, that the only thing that Government can do is take away your God-given rights. Taking away your rights to choose is the epitome of evil.
It is time to end the nanny state. If people want to smoke, let them. When they get cancer, they have to deal with it. If people want to eat 5000 calories a day and become obese, they have to deal with that. If someone is stupid enough to burn their mouths on hot coffee or a hot pickle, then they have to deal with it.
Stop trying to save people from themselves. Let people have their freedom, and stop the tyranny that has become engrained in our society.00 Reply
+1 yI wouldn't go so far as to outlaw it, but I think it shouldn't be as easily accessible or as cheap to buy. Or healthier foods should be more accessible and cheaper.
In Boston healthier food is actually cheaper IF you can get to it. It takes me over an hour to get from my neighborhood (which is in the ghetto) to the nearest health food store. Shopping at the health food store actually decreases my bill by 25%, but it's such a hassle. The regular grocery store has some healthy options but the cost is astronomical.
It's a real shame that only the wealthy/people who can afford to live in nice neighborhoods are given access to affordable health food, while the people who live in the ghetto get junk.30 Reply
+1 yI entirely agree. Junk food isn't the only bad food around... the whole fast food industry is sickening. Watch the film Food Inc. It teaches you about how our food is coming to be.
I personally believe that people should try growing their own food, or at least buy locally. I've been wanting to start Aquaponics for awhile now but haven't yet.
Junk food is priced so cheaply, in order for it to be affordable for everyone. The only benefit it gives is a quick fix, and a mouth full of cavities, a body full of toxins, and a rich pharmaceutical industry...36 Reply- +1 y
I thought it was called hydroponics?
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Also, +1 because even though I disagree with you about whether or not junk food should be outlawed, you at least offered a solution to the problem of healthier foods being more expensive.
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i agree about the junk food being cheap. it costs too much money to eat healthy. a mother can feed her family of four off the dollar menu at McDonald's cheaper than putting produce and fresh meats on the table.
1.5K opinions shared on Health & Fitness topic. "Outlawed" is too strong of a legislative move.
Taxation, and those funds moved to overall reduce prices for healthier food...yes.
This is a cold hard fact: the snack food industry WANTS people to be addicted to their products, and typical snack foods stimulate brain chemistry 90% similar to "controlled substances" like nicotine and cocaine.
There's a reason why kids (and adults, too) literally fiend for chips and snack cakes, but rarely fiend for beef jerky or milk.32 Reply- +1 y
Yes, I forgot about this option. Though I would say that taxation of any addictive substance has its limits in changing habits. I cannot believe how expensive it is to smoke but people still do it and new smokers file into the ranks every day. I think a combination of costs along with making unpopular to eat fast food, that together can help. Pop culture has a huge impact on consumer spending and material consumption.
Wow, everybody look at the bleeding heart liberal who thinks that outlawing something will make it go away. Did you not learn about the prohibition era? Have you not heard of violent crime rates NOT changing when the assault weapons ban was enacted in 1994 and again wen it expired in 2004?
Have you not heard of all the drugs being smuggled into the country and sold on the street to anyone who wants them? Have you not heard of all the prostitutes selling their bodies to make money? Do you not notice how many people (outside the state of New Hampshire) who do not wear seatbelts? How many people still use their phones when they are driving?
Pull your head out of your ass and wake the hell up. This is America, we have the freedom to endanger ourselves if we want to. This is why most people were against Obamacare, so that our society would not have to shoulder the burden of other people killing themselves.
You want to f*** yourself up, you are going to have to get yourself fixed.30 ReplyNo, because then you might have the govt. dictating what you can & can't eat, and that isn't cool.
I do, however, believe that there should be a better way to get wholesome foods to lower income families at a lower rate. I know there are food pantries, however, if you've ever gone there you know you get what they give you, it's not always healthy, and sometimes expired.
People do need to have the right to choose, that's what our country is all about. Some folks don't make the right choices. Shame on them. I still want a free society.20 Reply
+1 y
Everyone tells me I should buy an IPhone. I'm a technophile, anyway. I own a Mac, and I am in the creative industry, which IPhones seem to be made for. I would LOVE an IPhone. It would even make some sense for work. That doesn't mean I'm going to go out and buy one. I can't afford it, and can't afford the internet on it. So I don't buy one. I have a lot of bad things happen. Doesn't mean I have to make life worse by making poor decisions, like buying this IPhone when I can't afford it.
It's how you USE resources that helps or hurts... and there's only so much we can do to control what people choose to do with their resources, and many will STILL make poor decisions. We all have. That's our choice, as long as we are aware of the consequences and deal with them in an appropriate manner.10 ReplyDisagree.
Without junk food I'd be screwed. Regular food is lower quality than "junk" food where I live and caused me poisonning on a couple of occasions. So I pretty much enjoy having the option of not f***ing up my intestinal tract too much once in a while.
Of course you can get good food over here, but it's pretty f***ing expensive
I would love not to have to eat this crap though, I think healthy fresh food should be made more readily available for sure.
Maybe tax junk food a little more and pump that money back into healthy food producers as subsidies while making them cut their prices by an amount equal to the subsidy. Thus making junk food a little more expensive and healthy food a little cheaper, allowing people true choice.
People will still eat junk food because it tastes good and I even like to eat crap once in a while when I'm eating healthy regularly.00 Reply
+1 yWhere exactly would you draw the line on what is junk and what is not? Even McDonalds wouldn't be too terrible if people didn't eat it 4+ times a week. Not saying it would be healthy but it wouldn't be AS BAD as it is now.
I would like to see drive thru's closed though. May encourage people to go in an get food or just skip it altogether because the convenience isn't there anymore (or is reduced).
Or have fast food places do what Chick-fil-et does and be closed every Sunday. That may help too.00 Reply
Anonymous(36-45)+1 yNo, just for the same reasons we don't need to legislate everything else that's bad for you. People are going to make bad choices, people are going to make STUPID choices and there's nothing we can do about it. Even if you ban junk food there are plenty of other poor life choices for people to make. At least if it's there they can see there are consequences to their actions...You can't legislate common sense, and even if you could you'd have to assume the legislature HAD common sense. (lol- that was a crack at my own Canadian government no offense to other legislatures I haven't seen in action).
Seriously thought, if we legislate all it's going to do is cost more money to try to enforce it and guaranteed it'd be on the black market and not regulated with calorie and fat content on packaging the way it is now. And, side note, I would totally go black market for my chocolate- I try to eat healthily but every once in awhile, I just need chocolate :)10 Reply
+1 yI think there SHOULD be junk food, but only limited choices.. I live in Canada and we have 6 or 7 major food brands to choose from, for the most part, with all foods. When I go to the States, however, I see 50 different choices for cereal, candy, chips, etc.. and the US is the fattest country. Coincidence? I think not.. I'm not saying every other country ISN'T fat, but I think if people were limited to what they can choose from, then it wouldn't be such a problem. So no, it shouldn't be outlawed just restricted access.
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+1 yNo, we should make healthy food more available and affordable.
80 Reply670 opinions shared on Health & Fitness topic. I can see how it should be. People these days, especially kids, are becoming way more obese. Its not healthy. But you also have to remember that its their choice and that junk food is a luxury. If you want to get rid of junk food because it leads to obesity which can kill them then you should outlaw sports cars since people abuse those too and speed and wreck and die/kill others.
12 ReplyNo I should do whatever I want with my body. It's my body and only MY BUSINESS not the governments. This also goes for drugs as well.
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+1 yI remember them removing the chips and soda vending machine out of my high school and filled it with more nutritious goodies instead. So I guess there has been an effort on some level to reduce junk food with minors in school and such. Adults are going to eat what ever they want, though. There's no stopping that. I know I love my ice cream :)
20 ReplyDisagree. Who's authority is it to mandate what people eat? SELF-responsibility is what is needed, not some authoritarian method of restricting EVERYONE'S diet.
Also, what constitutes "junk food"? Fast food? I'd be pretty pissed because I myself am on a weight GAIN diet so burgers, meat lovers pizza, etc. is what helps me with that. If that is taken away because everyone else doesn't know how to properly diet, that's not my problem.22 Reply- +1 y
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+1 yI assume you live in America. America is a free country, meaning you can't ban everything that you don't like. Instead, you deal with it & move on with yours. What's stopping people from creating their own junk food, or better yet, what even qualifies as unhealthy food? This is never going to happen, health nut.
23 Reply- +1 y
He's not a health nut, because he doesn't know anything about health.
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:P
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@update: Okay. :|
Anonymous(36-45)+1 yI'm not saying we should only eat it, but there comes a point when processed or junk food becomes to unhealthy.
You CAN make amazing tasting food and treats that don't have pure sh*t for the ingredients. Candy doesn't HAVE to be made from high fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes. French fries don't HAVE to cooked in rancid hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Junk food shouldn't be outlawed, it should just be made with healthy ingredients. The reason it's junk is because it's cheap for companies to make, which gives them more profit. If they whernt greedy and didn't care about health, we could still eat tasty and healthy at the same time. Go to any health food store and look at their 'junk food' which is practically the same, just made with healthier ingredients. It would still be junk food, but at least it wouldn't be causing nearly as many health problems as the standard stuff does today.11 Reply
Opinion Owner+1 yWhat I'm saying is, many of the horrible ingredients it's made with should be banned.
Although I understand where you are comming from, you are not arguing valaid points. Our legal system is based on certain rights and freedoms that can not be denied here.
For something to be illegal it must be
1) Harmful to society (and being unhealthy does not fall into that category)
2) Harmful to specific individuals
3) Intentionally harmful in some way04 ReplyIt shouldn't be banned. If people want to eat unhealthily, that's their choice - the same as it's their choice if they want to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.
The more sensible solution, would be to put a "fat tax" on unhealthy foods, which would cover the increased cost to society (due to cost of providing medical treatment for obesity, heart disease, etc).
Denmark already introduced just such a tax, a year or two ago.026 Reply- +1 y
A fat tax is not a sensible solution considering that fat is an essential part of any healthy diet-- particularly a weight loss one.
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Of course it is. The tax rate is proportional to the amount of saturated fat contained in the food - BUT those foods with only a moderate to low fat content are not taxed at all. It's never going to be an issue for people to maintain sufficient fat intake - it merely encourages people to spread their intake across a variety of foods, instead of getting their entire daily intake from one burger, and then not being able to eat anything else that day (leaving them deficient in other nutrients).
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That's where you're wrong.. the healthy solution isn't to get as much nutrition in 1,400 calories as possible. It's to increase the amount of calories you can take in, through exercise. 1,400 calorie, weight loss diets are unhealthy despite the recommendations of skinny nonathletic journalists.
Besides that, you're basing the tax on two myths-- that saturated fat causes increased cholesterol and increased cholesterol causes heart diseases. Which makes the foundation of your idea.. bad. - +1 y
I'm sorry, I don't correct you out of arrogance or as a means of torturing you. ;) It's just, these myths spread by lazy journalists having become so ingrained into bro-science, that I can't stand it. As a society we believe self-professed gurus far too often and then spread the faulty facts to our friends, and they spread it to their friends and so on. Saturated fat isn't the monster you think it is. Nor is cholesterol. And I know that goes against everything you've heard, but I'm right.
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I never said anything at all about 1400 calorie diets, nor would I recommend them.
People should of course exercise more, and people also need better education (as others have said) - but those require major cultural change - they're not achievable within the 10 years or so.
Saturated fats, like many things, are fine (beneficial even) in moderation, and harmful in excess. It's just that with modern diets, we're far more likely to consumer excess fat than other substances. - +1 y
As for these things being myths - you need to be very careful.
Wherever something is widely believed to be fact (usually after many years of research by a wide range of scientists), there is always going to be someone desperate to prove the contrary - after all, you don't get your name in the paper by proving what everyone already knows.
That's why you'll still read papers "proving" that global climate change, etc, are myths. Don't be a sucker. - +1 y
Global warming is a myth o.O That's why they changed the name to "Climate change". The "fact" was based on a correlation that Al Gore popularized. I'll say it again, a correlation. Anyone who has taken a statistics class knows that correlation does not mean causation. So a correlation between Carbon Emissions and temperature increasing is no more of an explanation to why the temperature is changing than a correlation between shoe size and intelligence describes someone's intelligence.
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As for my mention of low calorie diets, it was in reference to you saying this "instead of getting their entire daily intake from one burger, and then not being able to eat anything else that day" -- the solution isn't compacting your nutrition into a certain amount of calories, it's increasing how much calories you can take in, in order to get enough nutrition
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As for taxes based on saturated fats, you've flip flopped your argument..
"'fat tax' on unhealthy foods which cover the increased cost to society (due to cost of providing medical treatment for obesity, heart disease, etc)."
and..
"Saturated fats, like many things, are fine (beneficial even)"
They need to be taxed to cover the cost they create by causing obesity and heart disease.. but they're fine, beneficial even, in moderation?
I'll just end with, they don't because obesity / heard disease - +1 y
QA believes in global warming too -.- sigh.. I feel bad for you guys.. because there is really no arguing to someone who takes 2007 being the coldest winter in decades and completely ignores it. If that doesn't make them wake up, nothing will. Carbon emissions does not create global warming. You know what else has a positive correlation with temperatures over the years? The amount of flatulence. Oh I'm a genius. Farting causes global warming. -.- Also gas prices and milk prices and etc
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highfive for putting words into my mouth =D. Its called climate change and not global warming because it changes the climate lmfao. Makes it colder and warmer. It makes weather patterns more extreme. Yes there are natural warming and cooling periods and yes humans are speeding these cycles up. By the way I'm probably one of the more open minded people you will speak to on this forum...did you happen to see my update?
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I said global warming is a myth and you were "lmao"ing.. I logically took that as the assumption you believe global warming is real-- and I think most others would too. If you said sasquatch was real and I said "LOL@ Sasquatch being real" would you think I thought sasquatch was real or fake?
In any case, I don't believe in man-made climate change either. And that is where this phenomenon enters the news-- not natural aspects we can't change, but rather human causes. There's no proof. - +1 y
Either way, I didn't mean to divert from the true subject at hand and I'm mostly at fault for that. So assume you're right about carbon emissions causing high temperatures without experiments if you will...
But my argument about fast / "junk" food, saturated fats, cholesterol and heart disease stands. And I don't think a fat tax is any more reasonable than a sugar tax or a lettuce tax. - +1 y
Firstly, "global warming" was NOT renamed to "global climate change" - they are two different (but related) phenomena, and neither is a myth.
Global warming is the increase in the mean global temperature.
Global climate change is the change in climatic conditions around the world.
Both are quantifiable facts (using historical recordings, measurements from ice cores, pollen analysis, etc).
If you want to argue about whether or not it's caused by human activity, look at it this way: - +1 y
We *know* CO2 acts a greenhouse gas (this can easily be proven in a laboratory).
We *know* that burning fossil fuels releases CO2 into the atmosphere, and that trees absorb CO2.
We *know* that atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing (this can be proven using ice cores, etc).
We *know* the global mean temperature is increasing. - +1 y
It would seem plausible that human activities (incl. deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels) because increased levels of CO2, which in turn causes an increase in the global mean temperature.
Now, you can argue that this is all just a coincidence - a mere correlation, rather than a causative relationship.
BUT - if this isn't happening, you have to explain *why* it isn't happening? And then you have to come up with a better explanation. - +1 y
Back to the discussion on diet...
You seem to think the solution is for people to get a lot of exercise, and then they can east as much as they like.
You seem to think my solution is for people to not consume any fat, and then they don't need to exercise at all - which is absolutely *not* what I'm saying at all. - +1 y
Neither of those is an option. NotJustAnotherGuy claims that the average American consumes 4000+ calories per day - that's equivalent to running 40 miles, or the recommended intake for a polar explorer. It's completely unrealistic to expect people to exercise enough to make up for that kind of excess.
Yes, people need to exercise more, but they also need to eat more sensibly. - +1 y
Also, I have not flip-flopped my argument.
I said fats are harmful in excess and beneficial in moderation - and I proposed to tax foods with excess fat and not those with moderate fat. It's pretty straight-forward.
Btw: Since you mention sugar tax, you might be interested to know that Denmark has one of those too. - +1 y
People naturally burn 2,000-2,500 calories a day. So they wouldn't be exercising to burn 4,000, so the running 40 miles a day is a stretch. And even if it's not the easiest way, that doesn't prove it is not the healthiest way. I never claimed proper exercise or dieting was easy. You said fat causes obesity, heart disease, etc.. than you elaborated to specifically pin point the tax to saturated fats, because of that. If you're gonna deny your own statements nothing I can say is valid.
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Tell me how fats-specifically saturated fats-cause obesity or heart disease.. because they don't. That was my very simple argument and it's been looped around with.. "well without eating 4,000 calories it doesn't do anything (moderation)"
And before you say 1,500 calories translates to a 2-3 hour workout a day.. stop looking at statistics that tell you how much calories you burn during a workout and learn what the afterburn effect is so you can find total calorie burn per workout. - +1 y
One of the mechanisms by which fats because heart disease: link
2000-2500 calories is the recommended daily intake for someone who gets the recommended daily amount of exercise - it's not how much you naturally burn just sitting on your butt. It's true that people wouldn't have to run 40 miles, but they would have to do far more than is practical for those with jobs, social lives, etc.
Also, I said "saturated fat" from the start - I just stopped because of - +1 y
Lol you linked me a study that makes it's assumptions based on correlations. Listen.. I'm going to tell you again why correlations don't prove causation..
You eat more food, you get fat, right? You eat more food, you eat more vitamins, you get fatter. There is a strong positive correlation between getting fatter and how much vitamins you consume. Thus vitamins because you to get fat? NO! Correlation shows there is a relationship. It doesn't answer why! - +1 y
because = oCAUSE GaG thinks I'm doing short hand because it thinks it's smart. -.-
+1 yNo more junk food! Less fat unhealthy people less heart attachs less deaths...but I gotta say I do <3 my chocolate and cookies...nice question.
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Aha welcome
+1 yNot at all. Prohibition towards any kind of consumable is just down right wrong in my opinion. There should be the utmost education on the subject, but ultimately it should be people's choices whether or not they'll take something in. Not to mention the term "junk food" hardly has a concrete definition.
10 ReplyYeah, that whole "freedom" thing is WAAAAAAYYY over-rated. Why not just have a small group of really smart people make decisions for everyone? That's totally worked well throughout history, right? And there's no way someone would ever abuse that kind of power either, I'm sure.
I think you're on to something here. . .23 Reply
+1 yHealthy food should be cheaper. Boom Problem solved.
But seriously, you're saying that poorer people are forced to buy junk food because it's cheaper. That may be true. If you just take away junk food, it doesn't really lower the cost of healthier foods. So, do you just want poor people to starve? People need better education about food and that should be done by the families.10 ReplyI guess we should also ban cars because all that gas costs us and society money. Oh and we should ban electricity because it's expensive. Come on man, get real. No one is forcing people to eat junk food. You could just easily do what I do. Don't eat it. Also buying a 99 cent hamburger is a lot cheaper than buying the ground beef and the bun and making it yourself.
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+1 yNo - for one reason; INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES. we do not need government outlawing what we can and can not put into our bodies. I think that drugs should be legalized. We have to get back our freedom - and that includes the freedom to make bad decisions.
00 Replyno, you shouldn't outlaw junk food,
but people should be better educated about how to eat healthy and balanced diets and given more incentives to buy and eat healthy food.
Something is wrong when processed food is cheaper than whole foods, like a bag of frozen french fries is cheaper than a bag of plain potatoes...00 Reply
+1 yIf it's outlawed then people will start smuggling it and then there's a host of new problems so this isn't an end all be all solution. It reminds me of when soda was banned from school firing my high school days. Kids would smuggle soda to school and sell it. So the key is to teach them at a young age and it will stick with them forever. That's how evangelism works lol
00 ReplyJunk food should not be outlawed
some people have faster metabolism requiring a high calorie diet especially if they are working out
there is nothing wrong with eating empty calories if you are burning through it
i can eat 4000 calories daily and I can still keep the same weight which includes things like chocolates, chips, etc..00 Reply
+1 yI definitely agree! I don't think it is doing anybody good...I mean it might taste good in the short term, but it has no benefit in the long run! Basically, it causes more problems than benefits!
10 Reply
Anonymous(45 Plus)+1 yOutlawed? No, but the industry definitely needs more regulation.
It should be illegal to use certain food preparation methods (which tend to leave feces in the meat). It should definitely be illegal to use more than a certain amount of preservatives and sense-deceivers.
Right now, you could cover a dog turd in enough chemicals that it would smell like a Big Mac to you.
Humans need to rely on their senses to tell them when food is possibly spoiled, or contains stuff that is not fit to eat.10 Reply
+1 yNo fool. We don't need more laws on our asses. If people can't learn to make the right decision then that's their lost. Junk food are bad but having them once in awhile isn't. No, healthier choices aren't that much more expensive.
20 Reply
Anonymous(36-45)+1 yIt won't happen, there are far too many huge companies that are raking in billions, and not only that they have ways of keeping the govt at bay. See the govt tried that back in the day not with food but with beverages, alcohol, and well look how that turned out.
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+1 yYes, let's outlaw things that are bad for us so the government can have nazi-like control of it's citizens. When the government controls what I can and can't eat, all will be right with the world. /endscarcasm
44 Reply- +1 y
STFU Brando. I find it exceedingly effective.
+1 yAgreed, I mean have you watched Food, Inc.? BUT the world would turn into chaos man
39 Reply- +1 y
Fact: the government actually decides half the things citizens do, they're part of law. So to save lives and lower diseases, there should be a limit to fast food, especially to kids. McDonalds for example, instead of fries, the government, food regulation act, didn't exactly force them but complained about it, that's why you get apple strips instead. I don't envy fast food because I eat fast food. I had Taco Bell during break today :D But still, the world has inproved and its time 4 our food to improve
- +1 y
Dear Kain6th,
We Americans live in a world packed with laws...There is not one step you take where there isn't law written for it. I would know because I'm studying law. The food regulation act is law, therefore, there are laws regarding fast foods. How would you feel if your relative died due to a heart attack after eating fast food? - +1 y
Well they eat unhealthy because unheathly foods (fast food specifically) are every corner, you basically have not other choice. Which is why they need to regulate their product of food to make it healthy.
No, I don't think certain types of food should be banned. If people want to eat unhealthy foods let them, It is not fair to control what foods we are allowed to eat.
28 Reply- +1 y
I agree with sephora. And you know, fast-food and drugs are both unhealthy, but drugs are addictive and deadly, which is why they should be illegal. You won't see a market of fast-food and dealers because there are other simple and healthy ways of eating. If people want fast-food, they should have it. It's not hurting anyone but themselves.
- +1 y
It hurts others by not producing anything and getting healthcare, but besides that it's not really anyone else's problem. Handicapped/mentally challenged people hurt society too. Should we get rid of them? It is what it is, and if people don't see the danger in having a foot of lard under their skin then perhaps they deserve their fate.
- +1 y
All unemployed people put a burden on the government, the fact that they're fat only makes it their fault, but it's not enough to take junk food off the market. The percentage of "too fat to work" people in all unemployed people is probably so small it wouldn't make much of a difference. If you want to help the government make more KFCs so people would have a job.
Anonymous(30-35)+1 yI think so too but some people do prefer junk over health food no matter what social class they are in though It does make me think what would the world be like if only health foods existed and junk never came to anyones mind. I think people should be taught how to have great self control at the least.
00 Reply- 1.6K opinions shared on Health & Fitness topic.
+1 yyes, we don't allow it in schools much any more, so why not make it illegal everywhere?
20 Reply I think junkfood should be outlawed from school cafeterias. Adults? No. It's their bodies, if they feel like poisoning it, let them. But kids and young teens shouldn't fed with junk food at their school.
20 Replydisagree.
sometimes you wanna have it a little bit fun with your friends.
i woud probably say that junk food is a good way to have a great time.
if you feel the junk food is doing anything bad then you just stay away from it.00 Reply
+1 yNO I don't think it should be "outlawed" lol. Just because its out there doesn't mean you need to buy it. and it tastes reall freakin good! Just portion size, even though that can be hard, its possible.
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+1 yIt should be taxed like cigarettes are here in NYC.
22 Reply- +1 y
it already is taxed btw
- +1 y
It is taxed higher than normal here. That's what I mean.
No! Freedom is letting people do things that they want too EVEN IF you hate it. (as long as it doesn't endanger other people, let it go.)
32 Reply- +1 y
The problem with your argument is that poor eating habits do harm others. When people make unhealthy lifestyle choices, one way or another the rest of us end up paying for all the extra healthcare they wouldn't need if they took better care of themselves. More Americans need regular healthcare because of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. If they cannot afford it, our taxes pay for it. If they can afford all insurance premiums increase to cover their use.
- +1 y
And so we're gona regulate what people can and can't eat?!? Redikoulous. Look up at the next answer for more on regulation.
I am more than happy to pay for other people to express their freedom. I've been doing it for years. America is my country, the inhabitants are my people, and the freedom that they enjoy? Its mine too.
If you don't agree, all I can say is "Haters gona Hate".
+1 yI think there should be junk food, but it should be taxed the sh*t out of... Junk food is cheap, and if it wasn't people may eat it less and not be fat pieces of sh*t.
10 Reply
+1 yNah, cigarettes and alcohol because a lot more harm than junk food, so its ridiculous to outlaw it without outlawing all products that are "bad" for you. Instead, people should learn to say no.
10 ReplyAgree! junk food just makes people fat and it's not good for you!
34 Reply
+1 ypeople can do as they please to their bodies...its up to them whether they eat junkfood, use drugs, not wear condoms...you control your outcome
20 Reply
+1 yLOL! This was a great idea to talk to. Well, I agree with it though I love eating junk foods. You have good points it also have the bad sides. But I don't want to discuss about it because its so broad.
00 ReplyNo because we are not forced to eat the junk food. Some people are just use to it or just too lazy to actually made healthier food. Everything in excessive is horrible for you.
00 Reply
+1 yShould we go back to riding horses, bicycles or even walking because car emission pollutes the environment?
Its cheaper to eat @ the fast food restaurant rather than eat at home - Fact02 Reply- +1 y
if your IQ is over 111,you will find a way which will cost you less to eat at home than at the fast food restaurant - Theory
Junk-food in and of itself shouldn't be outlawed, not wasting tons of resources and recycling on the other hand should be a required standard for the whole worlds bigger industries.
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+1 yDisagree. This sounds like legislation for those weak-minded twerps who can't stop themselves guzzling down fast food.
Grow a spine, people.20 ReplyI don't think it should be outlawed, but I do think there should be ways to make it less easily obtainable. For one, I believe restaurants should not give free refills on soda.
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Anonymous(45 Plus)+1 yits bad enough that I am 43 and still single, women don't like me, and I never had a GF. my life is miserable enough! now the government wants to take away my eclairs?
why doesn't OBAMA just put a gun in my mouth?10 Reply
+1 ynot outlawed.. Controlled and taxed by the states (not fed.) absolutely. Some of the junk foods are down right a disgrace imo.
10 ReplyDisagree.
Instead, people should be educated on healthy food options and self control.21 Reply- +1 y
People are being educated and they are still choosing poorly. I disagree with a ban too because it is impractical and won't fix the problem. I think the current economy is changing some of our eating habits, but even with that we've got a ways to go to get back to the eating habits pre-1980's, back when we ate at home more and ate smaller portions.
that´s depend on Food and drug administration..they should know and/or regulate if that food is not good for our health..
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+1 yI think it should be limited because some people abuse it and sit around all day getting fat because of it
00 Reply
+1 yNo way. People should be allowed to eat what they wish without being told what they can and can't eat. Consumption of junk food can be regulated, but it just shouldn't be outlawed.
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