Health And Nutrition

Keeping its populous well and well fed boosts the country's productivity, impacts its effectiveness in the global community, lowers the strain on its health care system, and adds to the overall satisfaction of its peoples. To that end, the U.S. government gets involved in health and nutrition issues in a major way.

One major way is through education and training. Reams of information about food, diet, exercise and nutrition are compiled and dispersed by the government every day. Everything from shopping guides to weight management to information on dietary supplements is available through the U.S. government. Its bureaus and agencies disseminate advice and information on a myriad of topics.

While the government doesn't decide what you eat, it does play a strong role in deciding what options are available. It regulates the chemicals used to grow food, defines what food is, determines safe handling practices and investigates should a problem occur along the U.S. food chain.

Health care is another concern of the government. While the U.S. does not have a national health program, it is still heavily involved with the regulation of drug quality control and testing, and funding for many health care programs. Many of those health care programs are governed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its 11 agencies.