Obesity is an epidemic that affects a large part of our society today, including children. According to the Center for Disease Control, more than a third of American adults today suffer from obesity. Obesity is more common in middle-aged adults because as you age, your metabolism slows, which helps you break down chemicals when you eat. When your metabolism slows down, chemicals are stored as fat, which leads to obesity. The disease also causes other health risks; including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Experts say that obesity can be avoided through daily physical activity of at least thirty minutes and a healthy diet. Contrary to what these experts believe, while it is true that we should argue that we should, many people tend to believe that it is the government's responsibility to help people fight against obesity. In 2012, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a major step to combat obesity and received much criticism and some praise for this action. Mayor Bloomberg passed a ban prohibiting the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces (Wall Street Journal). Many people felt like the ban took away their freedom of choice, but the ban only prohibited sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. In this case, people can buy as many sugary drinks as they want, but none of them will exceed 16 ounces. Dr. Michael Tanner said in the Wall Street Journal that "there is no doubt that government policies are contributing to the obesity epidemic in this country." Government policies have contributed to the epidemic of obesity among a few people. Quite a few people felt that businesses/employers should take responsibility and even explained why they felt that way, while including ways in which businesses were trying to help. On the contrary, others felt that companies should not take responsibility, because they were not the cause of the obesity epidemic, but the government. Those who claimed that the government was responsible for the obesity epidemic had one common reason for why they were responsible: subsidies. There is no doubt that both of these factors have played a role in this epidemic: government subsidies to employers forcing their employees to work longer hours, with those employees rarely having time to prepare a healthy meal and exercise . As stated previously, while these arguments have valid arguments, I believe it is everyone's responsibility to help fight this epidemic. Obesity is a very serious problem, which we all need to find a solution to solve. Since the 1970s, the number of obese people in the United States has doubled and continues to grow rapidly. So rather than saying it's this person's responsibility to help, we all need to lend a helping hand and beat this problem. As strong Americans, we can beat this obesity epidemic. The question is: can we all come together and accomplish this?