Senior Seminar

Statement of the Problem

I. Why am I interested in this Topic:

The topic of my research is focused on the negative health impacts of unhealthy food and exploring the connection these health implications have on our society. The reason I find this subject so fascinating is because of recent political attention that has been spent on the topic as of late, and my own interest in food and health. During my time here in America I have heard of new taxes that have been introduced to deter poor eating habits.

Now, if there is a field or subject that is incredibly sensitive and yet important, it is personal health. For a variety of reasons I plan to explore and highlight, but simply put for societies best interest, preventing poor health is a top priority. While historically health has been a private subject out of main government focus, since Obamacare was passed in The United States, we have seen a higher rate of public focus on healthcare, I think this is a direct result of the “universal” aspects that mean everyone needs to share the cost of everyone else’s health costs. Once this happened, laws such as higher taxes on Soda Beverages were put into place. These taxes sought to limit the amount of soda consumed, in an effort to curb sugary and unhealthy drinks.

II. Proposed areas of concern/need:

Areas of concern for me are first what are the reasons that these Politicians are raising the taxes on these drinks, is it unconstitutional for them to do so? Does it target companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

III. Discussion of Proposed Research Questions:

• Are these taxes effective?
• Are they legal?
• Are they making people more healthy?
• IS it unfair for the companies that are being impacted?
• is it the government’s business at all who is drinking and eating what?
• What is the best way to make Americans healthy, and keep health care costs down?