Obesity In America Essay

Did you know that more than 2/3 of Americans are considered obese or overweight? (“Obesity”). That is a very large number of people that are overweight. One of the biggest reasons Americans are becoming so obese is because of the over-consumption of junk food. A lot of people don’t realize that eating junk food all the time is very bad for you. Instead of eating healthy, people are more often choosing to eat junk food instead of nutritious foods. The consumption of junk food is overpowering the amount of the nutritional foods we should be consuming. This is becoming a huge problem for Americans, especially American children. A lot of American children are skipping out on meals, due to lack of time, etc. instead of eating healthy, they are

“By 2009, about 98% of all American high schools had vending machines in them” (“Junk Food”). “A poll on about.com says that about more than 40% of American parents say that their kids skip breakfast in the morning” (“Junk Food’). With that number of students that aren’t eating breakfast in the morning are counting on lunchtime to make sure they are eating. And for a lot of students, a school lunch is not going to satisfy their hunger due to “non-good tasting” school lunches. So if the students aren’t eating the school lunches, then what are they eating during the day? They are eating candy and soda from the vending machines. So for those 40% of kids who aren’t eating breakfast at home, are eating a candy bar and a soda for breakfast at school. Students are choosing the vending machine food over the school food because it tastes better. Nutritious and healthier school lunches have been reduced in schools over the last 20 years because they are so expensive. “Companies like Coca-Cola and Frito Lay are paying schools to sell their products in their schools” (Junk Food). So by eliminating healthier foods and promoting unhealthy foods, schools are potentially making more