Read the two articles below and write a comparative-style analysis.
“Toe the line” and save our kids by Dr Carren Clegg
Uncle Jed’s Roll-Up with 40 per cent less sugar has become the new low tar cigarette for kids. Just like Alley’s lollies now have 25 per cent less sugar. Wow! We can eat 25 per cent more!
But please don’t fall for this latest gimmick. Whether the cigarette is low or high in tar, it can still be fatal. Experts have every reason to fear the latest tactics adopted by the junk food industry. That’s because we’ve seen it all before. Obviously, it’s playing down the incidence of high fat, high sugar and high salt products, just like the cigarette companies minimised the dangers of smoking. Remember, too, that cigarettes used to be marketed with CDs and key rings, just like junk food is now with the toys and movie tie-ins.
The consequences are disastrous. A 10-year-old boy in Britain recently tipped the scales at 99 kilograms. And Australian kids are in the same boat; the latest figures show that up to 5 per cent of all kids are obese. Obesity clinics such as ours are overflowing. I have treated children as young as two for weight problems and some 10-year-olds are attending our adult weight-loss classes.
What are we doing to stop our dependence upon junk food and wean us off the junk food industry?
We have to learn from the past and put public health before company profits. If we let the food industry regulate itself, there’ll be a terrible price to pay. The voluntary regulations and advertising codes did not work with cigarettes. Why will they work with junk food companies? We all know that such companies are fooling us. They must toe the line before it’s too late.
Dr Carren Clegg, Family First Clinic
Are we to tax fruits then? (Jack Fen)
Are we to tax fruits then? Jock Sands
How about a fruit juice tax, and a cappuccino tax? They can be just as bad, if not worse, than soft drinks. And then what about other junk food products? Many have different types of sugar that slip under the radar. Bananas have a whopping 10 g of sugar.
Any tax will only hurt the poor who are not over weight, and will hurt jobs. I am living proof that you can drink one can of normal coke every day and still lose weight. And besides, our bodies need sugar to maintain brain activity and lean muscle tissue as well as energy. Glucose is needed by the body.
Unfortunately this is yet another prime example of state nannying with governments telling us what to eat and drink and how to become normal, ideal citizens. They are putting us all into a strait-jacket. Sweets are not unhealthy in reasonable amounts so we can all make up our minds about how much sugar is reasonable for our bodies.
Sugary drinks should have a clear health warning. Dentists should not charge for check-ups. In Europe sweets are above child-eye level. Children are allowed chocolate and small amounts of sweets in their lunch box. I know from experience and being a keen baker, that German cakes have put to two thirds less sugar than the equivalent recipe in an English cook book.
Children get fed on ready meals by their parent / carer in front of the television and because it will keep them quiet have sweets stuffed into them out of convenience. Sweets are not a reward any more but treated as a food. Stop the witch hunt!
- See Exercise 21, p. 32, Taking it further: writing an essay based on your notes. Refer to page 32, “Toe the Line” by Dr Carren Clegg and Mr Baldwin’s cartoon
- Return to Orange Workbook Program
- Return to Green Workbook Program