Ethics, legalities, and policies Response: Critically evaluate the elements of your post and compare them to those in your classmate’s. In what ways do your suggestions differ? Based on the evidence provided, create a respectful counterargument for your classmate’s suggested policies providing a unique point-of-view and asking him or her to address these considerations. Did your classmate provide a convincing plan for implementation and testing of the suggested policy? What suggestion(s) might you offer to support the policy as described? 1ST Maddox Child obesity has been and continues to be a problem for our youth today. In our schools the food is not exactly the best. This isn’t my opinion alone but many of our kids don’t care for it but in our system, we are 80% free or reduced lunches so our kids eat when it’s handed to them. I worked for an organization a few years back which focused on the mental health of children from a holistic approach. A child on my list at the time was 8 years old and topped out at an astounding 85 lbs. The child’s BP, sugar, triglycerides, etc. was off the chart. The child’s diet consisted of snack cakes, soft drinks and candy. ADHD, autistic and other variables had this child messed up. Long story short I changed his diet got him onto an exercise routine and in about 3 months he loss 20 lbs. and blood work was close to normal for a child this age. There is an obesity problem among our kids today. Solving the problem of overweight children is complicated. A solution to rid society of this noncommunicable disease won’t be an easy one as it isn’t as simple as just doing away with junk foods in the schools although the chemicals in the food have an effect on the behavior of the children. Educators habitually attempt to change these behaviors with little success in the overall scheme. They can implement knowledge and skill building strategies which reflect that the children play a major role in their own success as to what type of lifestyle they will lead.(we can’t make a suggestion of medication) Health, as we know it, is communal and per the environment the child is being raised their health is not detachable. The idea of moral reasoning that Health Educators social responsibilities are to implement a careful plan to achieve this goal which could change the social and environmental surroundings of the children makes this task difficult. In 1848 the modern era of public health concerns was born (Public Health Act). Concerns were about laborers, their health, and sanitary conditions on the job site. The children of this era were neglected, half-starved working in factories. Some didn’t have anything to eat until mid-day and their clothing was barely enough to cover them (Balog, J. E.,2016). I give you this brief description to say this. Our conditions aren’t quite as bad as they were in 1848 but terrible conditions still exist today. In our lower socio-economic area’s some conditions like those of 1848 continue to create many people living in single family homes where they sleep on the floors together, all sexes and ages. They pool their earnings together for the good of all but still lack in proper eating habits and clothing (Balog, J. E.,2016). Families are still having 4, 5, or 6 children per home with multiple fathers. How can we as educators eliminate or at least curve this dangerous situation? With concern to childhood obesity today it has been estimated that approximately one third of our children have a problem with obesity. The only way to really grasp this is to be able to see it firsthand and up close. The cost of is estimated to be around $147 billion annually in the United States alone and is expected to to reach 40 to 51 % by the year 2030 (Balog, J. E.,2016). Is it ethical for educators to step up to the plate and put forth and effort to dispose of this terrible disease? I believe it is. After years of neglect terms like epidemic, crisis or emergency are seldom used maybe because it isn’t politically correct but we must step in to make a difference and save our kids. Is taxation on certain foods or items such as cigarettes, beer and liquor the answer? I don’t know but it couldn’t hurt because that could up the price of a snack cake from two for .50 to maybe a buck or two each (Schwartz, M. B., & Brownell, K. D.,2007). Regardless let’s all do our part on this epidemic and educate our kids, their parents, and the public. Balog, J. E. (2016). Public health, historical and moral lessons for the preparation of school health educators: The case of childhood obesity and the need for social responsibility. American Journal of Health Education, 47(6), 334-342. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2016.1219683 Schwartz, M. B., & Brownell, K. D. (2007). Actions necessary to prevent childhood obesity: Creating the climate for change. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 35(1), 78-89. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/223504283?acco… 2nd Whitehead Ethics refers to a certain code of conduct to follow by a certain group of people. Basically, ethics are of great importance because they determine the relationship between the people involved. Legality refers to the level of submission to the law by a certain thing or deed (Gillespie, 2014). Therefore, it plays a great role in enhancing ethics of a certain group. Policies refer to measures or stipulations by a certain power that governs the relationship between the parties involved. Public policies are important since they regulated the direction of human life. This is simply because they curtail any ill behavior by people. However, to some extent, they prevent people from experiencing things that might improve their psychological development drastically. Autonomy refers to the aspect of personal responsibility. This stage of psychological development is affected by public policies. In other words, public policies are not desirable in this case despite their importance to the society as a whole. The reason behind this perspective is that public policies directly affect decisions by the people they govern. As mentioned above, public policies are important in ensuring the safety of the community as a whole. However, they are not usually erected on the life of individuals. There are some bad behavior among the youth and the adolescents. These negativity are triggered by the fact that these people have the desire to explore life and whatever it presents to them. Therefore, issues such as smoking and poor nutrition mainly affect this group in the community. Creating public policies that regulate such issues might be of great help to these young people and their families at large. Moreover, it is ethical for the government or the responsible leadership to make such policies. In addition, such policies are very effective because the youth fear the punishment that might befall them if they do not follow the regulations. However, education and awareness creation against such behavior might be of equal effectiveness. Reference Gillespie, A. (2014). International Environmental Law, Policy, and Ethics. OUP Oxford.