Unit 3 Ethical Issues essay

It was great to see this issue taken into account. I recently learned that the Prescott Unified School district only has Physical Education 2 to 3 days a week. I was outraged. So this was a particularly good time for me to this assignment.

It was interesting to see the first article, Essay on Obesity and the Environment Modifying the Environment to Reverse Obesity, actually take into account the fact that our daily lives don’t include physical activity like they used to. And because our lives are taken up with work that doesn’t include physical activity many have a hard time making time to get exercise. For me growing up, I never had a hard time getting exercise. But I was home schooled and lived in the forest, I was a total tomboy and spent my afternoons running around and climbing trees. And then I got into dance. I think that children and adults would benefit greatly from finding an activity that is fun for them. But then I quit dance and started college and it all went down hill from there. I stopped exercising. I lived a half hour drive out of town so there was no walking, and I just went home and watched TV with my parents. Getting rid of television when my boyfriend and I moved in was the best decision we have ever made. I feel that people shouldn’t have cable or satellite. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have any TV. We could have it and some DVD’s for when we get sick and lie around, or for watching something educational but for the most part TV should be given up.

I love the ides in some of the other articles where they’ve made trails a very viable mode of transportation. I think that it would be hard to convince people to give up their comfy cars to walk on trails. But if the trails make it easier to get where you’re going then it might work. It’s all about giving people an incentive, they’re not going to do it just because they’ll get exercise or pollute less. Trails for walking and bicycles are something that should be much more encouraged in cities. But I will say that I don’t want roads to totally disappear. I did a lot of walking this summer, but now that it is cold I don’t want to walk. I would not trade a half hour walk to work at 5:30 in the morning for a 10-minute drive.

Then there’s the issue of how to get people to eat food that’s good for them. The psychology of eating has always fascinated me. I have always eaten healthy. I was raised that way and just never learned another way to exist. So I have a really hard time trying to understand why people don’t eat healthy food, so I am happy that this was brought up because I am nutrition major and I need to learn how to understand this. I agree with the first article that advertising is a huge part of promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Children especially, being bombarded with these ads. My uncle, who’s a little radical, one time at a parade in town screamed at the Ronald McDonald going by on a float “You’re killing our children.” And that is true to some extent. I think for children this comes down partially to bad parenting. Parents give into their children too easily instead of saying “no” and sticking to it.

Eating well is a habit. I’m not sure what the best way to make the habit is, but I know that once you do it is hard to do anything else. If I eat out a couple times in a week I can feel it. It’s lower quality food that isn’t as healthy and my body let’s me know it.

I’m glad to see that there are so many people out their trying to fix the epidemic of obesity. I figure things can only get so bad, and once they do they’ll start to turn around.