According to the article below, half of the U.S. will be obese by 2030. The stated solution is to have the government market healthier foods more aggressively and to educate the people more on how to eat. But in our mixed economic system it is difficult for the government to step in and play down foods like McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell when they are at such a high demand. People like to eat good tasting, cheap food, but right now in America the healthier foods have to go through a more rigorous test to get put out on shelves at stores and therefore raising the price of this good. Since healthier foods are not a necessity to Americans they are an elastic good, which also means that the rise of price for these healthier foods will cause the quantity demanded to decrease according to the Law of Demand. So basically the solution is to raise the demand for the goods by lowering the price for the public and marketing the healthier products more to make them more desired. This is just an economic solution to obesity, but it is largely based off of individual's decisions. For example it is very difficult for a person after they just ate three grilled stuffed burritos from Taco Bell for $5, to give that up the next meal and eat a healthier food that cost twice that of Taco Bell. Healthy eating is a habit that must be perfected day by day, it's not always the most enjoyable activity. But more aggressive marketing and the lowering of prices on these healthy foods could lead many Americans to be more willing of eating healthy.
8 comments:
I totally agree with this and the more we wait to lower the prices on these healthier foods, the more people run the risk of becoming obese. I also think that besides the diet of some people, working out is a key factor in helping prevent obesity. More and more people now a days are really lazy and not many of them get off of their couch. People need to get up and exercise. The better shape and healthier you are, the more things you're able to do in your life and the happier you'll be.
Also I believe that while technology does make an economy more efficient, it can make people more lazy and therefore obese. Like Matt said people are spending more time just sitting around and it's because everything is at our fingertips now and can be done with the push of a button. In turn I believe that physically technology is making the U.S. a bunch of quitters, as people are used to little efforts to achieve their wants. But when faced with any hard fought task over a period of time, people are more likely to just give in. For example people always make these New Year's Resolutions to go to the gym and two weeks later they are back to their old habits again of not eating right or working out right.
How could they reduce the price of healthier foods inorder to raise demand?
If we reduce the amount of technology that does most of the hard labor work, more people would have jobs and with that job those people would be more physically sound. Instead with all this technology, like alex said, people just sit around watching the machine do the work. I believe that most healthy people have some money because they can afford all the healthy foods, personal trainers, gym memberships, etc. So they're the most fit people out there. The more obese people seem to be lower class, people with not a lot of money. I think that by lowering the price on healthy foods and other things that would help people become more fit, the demand would sky rocket since more people could afford it. I'd start buying more healthy foods for sure.
For some Obesity is a choice and by choice I mean that they can afford healthier food and choose not to buy it; They choose to eat the fatty foods they purchase.
For others in a lower class economy, eating from a fast food establishment isn’t a choice, its a demand. People who live in a lower class economy demand a cheap meal to provide for there families and to save money and the only places that fit there budget are fast food establishments such as Mcdonalds. Places like Mcdonalds market to all ages with there kids menus and super sized meals. Mcdonalds is also a well known company and there commercials make kids and families want to eat there. Although there is a salad on the menu and they do market there “healthier” foods, they’re all still very unhealthy. So for the lower class eating healthier foods that are over priced is totally out of the range. If fast food establishments provide cheaper and healthier foods then that would help decrease the rate at which obesity is rising.
I agree completely, lowering the prices on healthy foods will increase the desire for them. The reason fatty foods are so inelastic is because, for one, they taste great, and two, they are cheap and very affordable. People are just looking to find a meal that is within their budget, and for many, the pricier healthy foods are not in their range, there for making them less appealing. As Matt said, the longer we wait, the higher the percentage of obesity will increase. If businesses start making healthy food taste better, which is in fact possible, and prices are decreased to something that will make a better fit for more budgets, the elasticity will then gradually become more and more inelastic. Soon, obesity in our nation will decrease immensely.
- Molly A.
I think that obesity is a choice and people can make that decision to eat those fatty foods, but they also need to make the decision to workout more to work off those fatty foods so they can eat more of those fatty foods. If more of us can get the message out at school and other areas to work out more so that the people who love to eat fatty foods, like me, can eat more. I have to work out constantly so I can continue eating what I love to eat. Those foods are addicting and honestly the more you work out, the better that food tastes and the more you crave it, so working out and eating fatty foods essentially work hand in hand with each other.
I agree with the idea that the government needs to stage healthier food for a lower cost. In our society today, fast food is easily accessible, tasty and cheap, causing the level of obesity in the United States to increase drastically. Another problem with fast food is that America’s healthier foods are put through a longer more difficult process causing them to be more expensive. Due to the demand of fatty foods and lower prices, the most available place to eat for a majority of Americans are fast food restaurants. Unfortunately, Healthier foods are not essential to Americans due to the high price, which is an example of an elastic demand. I think that the government needs to reconsider the prices of the healthier foods. If healthier foods are priced lower, the demand will raise allowing the obesity rate to change significantly for the better and have healthier eating habits amongst our country.
Cassidy H.
Post a Comment