Should Nutrition be Considered a Public Issue?

In these unhealthy times, the nutrition of our people has escalated to the point of being a major public issue. Obesity is up, athleticism is down, and there are numerous sources to blame. By identifying the problem and educating citizens and children alike on the benefits and methods of clean, healthy living, we can increase our nation's happiness, productivity and potential. Certified nurse educators are doing what they can to help people learn about health, and they have made a great impact. Informing the public masses on key health matters must be achieved by any means necessary.

Modern culture is based on a convenient and luxurious lifestyle. However, staying healthy isn't always convenient. If there were more fitness-oriented advocates in the local, state, and federal governing bodies pushing for certain mandates that encourage better nutrition, public apathy would surely decrease. Instead, park district budgets are cut, small parks lay decrepit, and urban areas play host to "food deserts," entire city block absent of healthy eating choices. These junk food wastelands teach the youth that poor eating habits are normal, depriving them of ever seeing a real fruit or vegetable.

Taking a stand against this current model isn't easy. Heavily processed foods offer big corporations greater profits than farm-fresh, vitamin-laden selections. Even still, putting both consumer and regulatory pressure on the food industry to get healthier shows that there is a demand for superior products. Unfortunately, that's only a part of the battle.

Much of the public have been dissuaded against choosing healthy options due to propaganda-esque advertising and marketing campaigns. Now more than ever, we must be teaching children in grade school the detailed benefits of fresh food of a wide variety, as well as making it easy and affordable for adults to acquire, prepare, and consume these same choices. This goes hand-in-hand with teaching people to cook for themselves; a skill that makes nutritious living a much simpler task. However, without the proper motivation and assistance, the public often lack this basic ability.

In order to combat poor nutrition and bring healthy knowledge to the people, it is important to raise awareness. Until the heads of government and business are treating nutrition as a serious public issue, it is doubtful that forward progress can ever be made. For those seeking degrees in health related fields, maintaining a strong personal public image demonstrates the relevance of nutrition. As more and more educated health advocates stand together, the average Joe will have little choice but to take their own fitness more seriously.

Some people may believe that nutrition isn't and shouldn't be a public issue but that it is the responsibility of the individual to educate themselves on important matters and to organize their own fitness methods. Of course, it should be no problem in our modern era of free markets, unlimited choices, and endless convenience. Conversely, due to overwhelming choice overload coupled with a plethora of fitness gadgets and health trends, keeping on a steady path towards nutrition is tough. That is why a centralized body could be consulted to set forth unbiased guidelines for the health and well-being of all people.

Whatever resources it costs to better educate the public on nutrition will easily be made up for by the more productive and engaged lives they will be able to live. Unfettered by needless diseases that result from poor diet and physical malaise, a healthier population could achieve more success, improved efficiency, innovation, and overall profitability. There's no good reason to not consider nutrition a public issue of the most importance. With everybody's help raising awareness and educating the masses, this avoidable epidemic of bad health and poor nutrition currently striking us may quietly go away.