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Comment by Timpy | Hacker News Reader

Taking responsibility for your health is discouraging in America. You have to go through great lengths to avoid added sugars, companies hide or obscure the amount of sugar they're putting in their product. I'm tired of feeling like I have to defend myself from the people trying to sell me things, it's difficult trying to make decisions that are best for me when multi-billion dollar companies are doing everything they can to manipulate me into consuming their products.

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I hear you. When we took our baby to the US on vacation I found it really hard to find appropriate food. American baby food had added salt and sugar which is illegal to add to baby food in Norway. We have the opposite "problem". There is no way to find baby food jars with salt or added sugar. That can't be sold in the store.

I don't get why America is so against regulation like this to promote the welfare of the most previous thing in people's lives. Do corporate interests really have that much power?

>Do corporate interests really have that much power?

In short, yes.

Why isn't there more political engagement to change that? Like pass laws to limit corporate influence?

Corporate interests have nearly all of the power, as far as I can tell. They also constitute a huge part of the culture, and occupy a psychological position that I would call almost sacred.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. Notice a few comments elsewhere about how skinny people on TV in that period looked. Yet, many, if not most, of the products available then are still on the market today. Even the really bad ones like.. Coke or Captain Crunch or.. ice cream!

If kids, and people in general, are suffering from too much sugar the blame falls squarely on their own shoulders. If you are so lazy that the only food bought is heavily processed, then yes, your daily intake of sugar, fats and calories will be quite high. Not giving your kids juice boxes thrice times daily will go a long way too, but you may need to listen to them whine about having to drink.. water.

It's not impossible to be healthy. To be clear, I'm not making excuses, I do take responsibility for my sugar intake and health in general and I make responsible choices. I take it very seriously, which is why I describe my diet as "eating defensively." Food in America can be fast, cheap, and convenient, or it can be healthy. The "healthy" options cost twice as much at any fast food restaurant (not to mention the amount of sugar and fat hiding in your salad dressing). I just wish it weren't like this in America.

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