A little money and a craving can take you anywhere. Some people choose healthy options to calm their hunger pains, while others cave to their craving. They go to their favorite fast food place, where they can get fast and cheap food. With fast food chains everywhere, it’s easy for us to go and buy a typical burger and fries. Also, it doesn’t help that the food is so cheap. Most fast food meals are under $10, while fresh produce and cost double or triple that. With obesity reaching an all time high, this resurfacing question comes up: Should it be the government’s job to try to keep people healthy? The government is trying to fix our problems for us, when only we can fix ourselves, by making the right choices.
In “Myth, Lies, and Complete Stupidity” by John Stossel, we learn some states, like Illinois, they have added the “candy tax.” But currently, they are still under debate on what exactly qualifies as candy and what should deserve the tax. In New York, Representative Felix Ortiz wants to ban salt in the state. And of course, many other states have limited their cup sizes and put calorie counts under fast food meals. And in Denmark, they added a “fat tax” to their foods. But unfortunately, these attempts at reducing obesity haven’t worked. Denmark's fat tax was repealed one year later after it was introduced, and labels under food does not change people’s decisions. Also, the candy tax and proposed salt reduction is under a heated debate. The government tried to step in and help us, but it isn’t working.

It’s a noble idea to try to stop obesity through taxes, bans, labels. But if someone really wants something, they will find a way to get it. And in this case, it would be fast food. Everyone knows fast food is unhealthy for you, but still, we find ourselves eating it. We make that choice between healthy and unhealthy food every day. We make the choice, good or bad, with fully knowing all of its consequences. There is all this proposed retaliation against obesity, but it isn’t fixing the problem. The problem: decision making. Many people say healthy food is too expensive compared to fast food. But if someone really wanted to buy healthy food, they would find a way.
Government intervention is also a popular topic under debate. First Lady Michelle Obama has the mission of stopping childhood obesity within a generation. Her campaign, “Let’s Move,” educates parents and helps get kids active. Health classes in schools educate kids about fast food, and encourage them to make healthier choices. And schools now have government regulations on what they can serve. Solutions are all around us, we just aren’t using what we know. People need a wakeup call, to see what’s happening to our country. Fifty years ago, obesity was rare and uncommon amongst adults, let alone children. But nowadays, the number of obese children and adults are multiplying, and becoming more common in our societies. If we want to change the way we live and become healthy, then we need to make the first step by watching what we eat.
The government, unfortunately, no matter how hard they try, will not be able to be there to help people make the right decision at every moment. They have already educated us on the facts and consequences of fast food through schools and labels on menus. We know what's right and what’s wrong to eat. If everyone applied their knowledge about fast foods to real life, obesity wouldn’t be such a problem. Bottom line: it’s our job to keep ourselves healthy, take care of our bodies, and monitor what we eat– not the governments’.