Obesity is a serious health concern that should be addressed holistically by all the concerned stakeholders. In this essence, the federal and state government have the moral authority of devising measures aimed at keeping people from becoming obese. Presently, there are several measures that have been highlighted aimed at addressing the problem. However, concerns have been raised regarding the relevance of the proposed measures. This paper will highlight the extent to which the proposed measures for addressing obesity violate the autonomy of individuals. Besides examining the extent to which the outlined measures are paternalistic, the paper will also outline the success that can be achieved by the government through its measures aimed at controlling the obesity epidemic.
The extent to which Measures Violate the Autonomy of Individuals
Analysis of the proposed measures by state and federal government for addressing the problem of obesity shows that they have greatly disenfranchised on the autonomy of individuals. This is primarily attributed to the fact that the proposed measures have been championing a forced lifestyle that may not augur well with the individuals. For instance, requiring employers to provide nutritional and fitness programs for their employees is a clear violation of the autonomy of individuals. This has alluded to the fact that there may be individuals who may not be willing to enroll for such programs, However, given that the respective measures have been proposed by state and federal government, then the individuals may be forced to enroll for respective nutritional and fitness programs, thus violating their autonomy.
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Naturally, initiatives of keeping people from becoming obese are supposed to be initiated at a personal level without the coercion of state or federal government. However, this is not the case in this instance such the respective measures have already been proposed and the individuals have no any other alternative other than observing them.
The extent to which these Measures are Paternalistic
It is clear that the proposed measures by the federal and state government for keeping people from becoming obese are highly paternalistic in nature. This is because the authorities have undertaken broad measures aimed at regulating those under its control, especially in a matter affecting them as individuals. It is for this reason that the state and the federal government aims at controlling the diary and health practices of its citizens. This has been evidenced by a raft of proposed measures whereby the employers are required to provide nutritional as well as the fitness programs for their employees. In this essence, it is clear that the state and the federal governments are collaborating with the respective employers to regulate the conduct of those under their control with regard to matters affecting them individually.
This has also been evidenced through the requirement whereby all the restaurants are needed by the state and federal government to put nutritional information about their dishes on their menus. Through such approaches, it can be interpreted that the state and federal governments have resorted to micromanaging all restaurants in its efforts to keep people from becoming obese.
How far morally the Government can go to Control the Obesity Epidemic
Analysis of a raft of proposed measures by the state and federal government shows that the government can go all the way irrespective of the raised moral concerns in its efforts to control the obesity epidemic. In this case, it is evident that the government is even willing to go as far as controlling individuals indirectly in its measures aimed at controlling the obesity epidemic. Even though such practices contravene the expected moral standards, the government has demonstrated its willingness to go all the way for the successful prevention of obesity epidemic.
Conclusion
The paper has illustrated the extent to which the proposed measures by state and federal government violate the autonomy of individuals in the bid to address the obesity epidemic. Besides demonstrating the manner in which the proposed measures are paternalistic, the paper has also highlighted the extent to which the government can be morally in its bid to prevent the obesity epidemic.
