Cities around the country continue to struggle with the obesity issue. New York City went as far as banning large soft drinks at restaurants to help people slim down.
So, this week's Q-Line question asks:
Do you think it's the role of government to regulate what we eat or is that too close to a nanny state for your liking?
Here are your responses:
"The last time I checked, except for the city of San Malicious, this is a free country, not a nanny state. So, no, I do not think it is the role of government to regulate what we eat and don't eat. I love good food, but I don't want the government telling me what I can and cannot eat. We do not live in a communist land, except in the city of San Malicious."
"No, it's proven that gigantic sodas and gigantic portions make people fat. People can't control themselves because that is what they are provided. It's like the movie industry telling us ‘This is what you want, so we are going to give it to you.' That's not true. It's not necessarily what we want. They find a pattern and follow it because they run out of ideas, and then they tell us ‘That's what you want.' And that's what the giant soda people will say. ‘That's what you want. You want the Big Gulp, don't you?' So, I really don't think that that action was a nanny state thing. I don't think getting rid of trans fats in California was a bad thing. … Nobody has self control anymore. Children aren't brought up with the right kind of manners and portion control. We are a nation where the thin, healthy people are paying for the obese sick people. So no, and why is it not troubling to me? Because we are already there. We have already fallen off the cliff. We are already a nation of fat people. … We were trained to clean the plate. I was smacked around as a kid if I didn't finish it."
"There are two important things the city of Santa Monica can do to help citizens get out and exercise more. Fix the sidewalks. I live in Sunset Park, home to experimental sidewalks made of old tires. After five years, walking on them is nearly impossible because of the way ficus trees have buckled them. I'm limited to three streets where I can walk safely at night. If one were to try to navigate these sidewalks without a flashlight, there is no way they would not trip or fall. Discontinue planting liquid amber trees. The colored leaves in autumn must remind them of their hometowns back East. What comes after the leaves drop are large, spiky, round seeds, roughly the size of Ping-Pong balls. Hundreds and hundreds of them on the sidewalks. I've seen people twist ankles and fall. I've had to pick them out from between the wheels on my child's stroller. Any tree with such large seed pods cannot be placed by sidewalks. I don't know how the city has not been sued over this."
"It is not the business of federal, state, or city governments to regulate how much people can eat or drink, and it is delusional for them to think that this will fight obesity. Government can inform people about the caloric content of foods, the need to limit intake, and to exercise, but it is up to individuals to be responsible for their own health and make their own choices about what to eat."
"Make the nutrition information available, and that is enough. People can make up their own minds. It is not the government's or anyone else's business what someone else eats. Unless the fat slob is sitting next to you on the plane."
"I think that it's the role of health authorities to suggest what people might do for their good health. But there is no way a government agency should dictate what is eaten or not eaten and try to rule by regulations the things that are purchased or not purchased. If I were a New Yorker I would simply go into a fast food area and order two drinks instead of one super drink. So in essence I am drinking even more than the super drink."
"What does all this nonsense about banning 32-ounce sodas, plastic bags, smoking, leaf blowers, requiring seat belts and helmets, bike lanes instead of cars mean? It is the incremental restriction of liberty by Big Brother. Most of these slimy laws are because of the hatred egotistical political hacks have towards what they regard as meek simpletons. Nowadays most mediocre politicians believe in the utopian hatred theory of progressive control of low-informational voters. Subtraction of large sodas by pious hacks eventually leads to excess of taxes and then speech. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The love of money, along with power, to disrupt people's lives is the root of all evil. Sadly, banning 32-ounce Coca-Cola is a small step to fulfilling the liberal decline of our free society."
