Obesity In America Essay

Causation of and Counter for the Obesity Crisis It is difficult to approach the problem of rising obesity in America without understanding what causes that obesity. There are many theories, such as laziness, negligent, absent or busy parents, or lack of healthy food and activity resources. Encouraging personal responsibility, being more active and subsidizing health food and grocery stores are some possible solutions that have been suggested. However, none of these theories explain why people fall into fat-forming habits. Obesity is in fact a socio-psychological phenomenon where behaviors that cause obesity are normal, even when looking obese is not. In order to change obesity trends, the American culture will need to adjust its outlook on

John Hill, the director of the University of Colorado’s Clinical Nutritional Research Unit suggests that people who are considerate of a proper diet can maintain their weight even when on high-fat diets, but people on that same diet who did not show restraint gained weight. In the words of his study, “Restrained eaters, as compared with unrestrained eaters, avoided increases in energy intake and weight gain on the full-fat diet and lost weight on the low-fat diet.” The insufficient, aesthetic-based motivation coupled with a lack of restraint when eating and relaxing that many Americans display are huge factors in the obesity

Some of his specific solutions may not work – for example, banning sodas sounds like a good idea, but what about high-sugar, non-carbonated drinks? Or carbonated drinks that are not unhealthy, like seltzer? – but the overall idea is correct. It is important to educate and train children to lead healthy lifestyles, as good habits are easier to keep when formed young. This is another point that Mrs. Obama agrees with, and she goes at length about obesity in children in her speech. However, it still remains that children surrounded by an obese culture are more likely to be obese, so the overweight adults need to be targeted too. She does briefly mention that clearer labeling should be required of fast chains,