Obesity In The 1970's: A Research Study

Imagine starting adulthood with a possibility of having a sudden heart attack due to excessive weight. In the 1970’s, life was very different from now, food was freshly made at home, sodas weren’t popular, almost nobody was obese, and boxed food didn’t exist. Over the years, health has severely declined in America, every year obesity becomes even more common and many worry that this could be the beginning of a horrible future for millennials. What caused a pivotal turn in American health was the fact that stores started packaging food, people began eating in high amounts, portion sizes almost doubled, and fast food places expanded all over the country. The main causes of the obesity epidemic among 18-25 year olds appear to be unhealthy eating

Compared to the 70’s, the 2000’s national surveys show the dramatic increase of obesity among adults. Recent surveys estimate that 32.7% of adults are overweight, and about 7.7% are extremely obese. Studies have shown that although women and men gain weight as they age, women are more prone to developing obesity. To prove this, the results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2004 to 2014 approximated that 35% of men and 40% of women were prevalent to obesity. In recent years, women have been suffering from obesity more than men, but overall American adults beat populations from many other countries when it comes to obesity percentages. Around 61 million American adults are considered obese, which is why the country is number one most obese in North America. Usually when the U.S. is considered number one it is for a good reason, but being the most obese in North America calls for an immediate

The 18-25 year olds of this generation have a wide variety of food choices ranging from vegetables to full calorie meals. It is indisputable that there are millions of fast food restaurants across the country, with advertising and marketing strategies with the ultimate goal of selling their food, but that is not the problem. Fast food restaurants are simply doing their job and expanding in order to make billion dollar companies, but it is up to the consumer to decide if they want to opt for the company's unhealthy food. In addition, people’s lifestyle decisions have also played a significant role in the decline of health among adults. There are about 36,180 gyms in the country, and Americans are still ranked number twelve in the list of most obese countries in the world. It is unethical for millennials to blame everyone but themselves for being obese and developing linked diseases, when they know they are the ones spending little to no time doing physical activities. Fast food places keep expanding and gyms continue to be available, but restaurants are not pressuring the consumer and gyms are never going away, so it is personal responsibility to make the right