While some people argue that maintaining a healthy diet is a matter of personal responsibility, others feel that the government holds the authority to ensure that its citizens have a healthy diet. From two opposing views, I stand with the perspective believing that the responsibility for ensuring a healthy diet belongs to each person because a final decision to choose the way of life is determined by the individual, on which I will elaborate more in this essay.
On the one hand, many people believe that the government plays an important role in creating a supportive environment for its citizens to maintain a healthy diet. This is because a healthy diet-leading to a healthy society-may reduce economic burden on a country. Were everyone in a society in good physical condition, they would not only be more productive, but also be able to reduce a country’s healthcare expenditure. Furthermore, the proponents of the opinion argue that the government can facilitate its citizens to have a healthy diet through well-organised regulations and designated programs. For instance, the government may conduct the regulations limiting or labelling the advertisement of fast food, and also make the healthy food more affordable such as providing free nutritious school meals programmes.
On the other hand, the supporters of healthy diet as a personal responsibility argue that the government can facilitate or even press the healthy diet for people; however, the final decision on what to do or eat is solely taken by each individual. This is because doing or eating a healthy diet is a particular part of individuals’ lives which can not be intervened by others. Furthermore, the proponents of this argument feel that doing or eating a healthy diet requires a high level of motivation and of discipline which both of them basically can not be controlled by the government. For example, a person may be fully aware of the health risks associated with excessive consumption of fast food but still choose to eat it regularly.
To sum up, after considering two opposing views, I feel that the duty to ensure a healthy diet is a matter of personal responsibility. This is because everyone has the right to shape their own lives.