Time for Government to Care About Health.

According to the Nation Institutes of Health, more than 68% of United States Adults are overweight.  Our nation is preoccupied with fixing a health care system that focuses on caring for the sick. I believe the nation should shift our efforts towards preventive health care starting with education.  If our citizens were more educated in their health, perhaps our health care system would be less corrupt.

In September I started my own health journey. Growing up in a single parent home, my sister and I were responsible for making our own meals more often than not. I was never taught about health science or how to eat to nourish my body. Now that I’m older I’m having to educate myself to reverse years of over eating. So far, I’ve been successful and lost 40 pounds at home but I’m still struggling with a lack of nutrition information when I go out on the town.

It is time for the United States government to step in and give its citizens a few tools to better maintain health. I would start by proposing an update to “health class”.  Educating kids on what their bodies need to run properly should start in elementary school. Everyone should know how to read the labels on what they are eating.  We should be educating students about healthy mind, exercise, and nutrition practices. The next step would be to make those tools readily available everywhere. I am aware that the FDA currently has a proposal to require restaurant chains with more that 20 locations to have nutrition information available. This is a step in the right direction; Americans need to be informed when making decisions regarding their health. If our government ensures that tools are readily available for Americans to educate themselves on their food and health decisions, our nation would prosper in more ways than one.