Fat America
It is obvious as you walk down the street or sit at a food court to watch people and see that a vast majority of Americans are overweight. Obesity is a rising problem in our economy, up 37 million from 1980 and an additional 28 million are estimated to fall into the same category by 2013. Surprisingly, this trend is not only being held by low income Americans who eat at fast food restaurants nearly 2 out of 3 meals a day, but middle class Americans are quickly pursuing the same lifestyle. Of course, the fast food economy is booming right now along with businesses trying to satisfy those overweight by producing everything "super sized", but are we killing America at the same time? The business economy is being taken over by the "plus-size" population. New, wider seats are now on the market when buying a vehicle, along with seatbelt extenders to allow riders a more comfortable ride. Obesity is an important issue that inflicts so many lives each year and is the reason for a great amount of deaths. On the other side of the issue, a $49 billion weight loss industry is attempting to stop this deadly trend and get Americans in shape. It seems that even with the huge increase in gyms, diets, and low fat foods, the overweight community is continuing to rapidly grow.
The question is, "What do we do to stop this?" One obvious but very unrealistic solution to this problem would be to ban all fast food restaurants from America. This may help the issue of obesity but think about what it would do to the economy. Consider the opportunity cost of banning fast food chains from America, which would leave many Americans who are employed by food chains and the companies that produce the products without a job and money to support their family. Realistically, this would basically lead to more harm than good, so there has to be another way. In my opinion, I believe a great deal could be accomplished by reducing the portions of food served at restaurants and by throwing away the "super-size" or "biggie" menu completely. This would not hurt the economy, instead it would teach people to eat and be satisfied with smaller portions of food. There is always going to be a need for industries that produce products to fit all shapes and sizes, but there is nothing wrong with putting forth an effort to improve the health of people in our economy.
1 comment:
Nice post Ashleigh. On a related topic, I have wondered if the rise of buffet style restaurants (like Ryan's Steakhouse) also contribute to overeating. At buffet restaurants the consumer pays a flat rate and then is able to eat all they want. Thus, in the parlance of Chapter 7, the flat rate price becomes a sunk cost and the marginal (explicit) cost of eating becomes zero. Thus, a rational person will continue to eat until their marginal benefit equals the marginal cost. This pricing would lead people to eat more than they otherwise would if they had to pay for each item.
I just returned from Brazil a week ago and their buffet restaurants base their prices on how much your plate of food weighs! This would seem to be a better pricing strategy if you're trying to get people to cut down on their eating.
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