Over the past century, America portion sizes and waistlines have grown exponentially. In 1975 the largest soft drink size was seven ounces, today a child’s size is 12 ounces. Also in the seventies high fructose corn syrup was invented and became a common ingredient in fast foods. Technology has contributed to our laziness and the ease of not leaving your couch to order more food. Obesity is a big problem caused by portion sizes, processed food and sugars, and technology.
Every child in America can rattle off ten or fifteen different sugary snacks that they like with no problem, but not nearly as many can name the same number of fruits or vegetables that they enjoy. Junk food marketed towards children is a real threat to their overall health as they are too young to recognize that it isn’t healthy or good for them, they only see a brightly colored package and something that they think tastes good. Children in America are more obese than ever before due to the accessibility of junk foods, by letting children eat these foods adults are doing them a great disservice. Junk foods contain unhealthy or even cancer-causing chemicals that get added into the body, it can destroy mental health, and is the leading cause of obesity in America. Most junk foods like snack cakes, cookies, chips, and anything canned or frozen contain preservatives.
The health issue of obesity encapsulates a topic of controversy for many years now. As rates of obesity increase in children, teens, and adults, the problem of action arises. A specific question poses: should the U.S. government place regulations on Americans in order to combat obesity? The polarizing viewpoints form from the idea that controlling the food and exercise of people’s lives invades their privacy despite making them healthier and helping them to live longer. In my honest opinion, the answer to the aforementioned question is yes.
Millions of Americans are diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. With that being said that is a large amount of our population that will have to go on medication. Being medicated always comes with its own risks, but with severe mental illness patients a risk can be weight gain. Already our country suffers greatly with obesity and it is not helping to have citizens that can’t help weight gain while taking certain medications. As a result it would be useful to have a medication that can eliminate this factor.
Americans today are fighting an obesity epidemic. According to a study published by Genomics & Genetics Weekly, the number of severely obese Americans has increased by 70 percent in a 10-year span (2012). The study also claimed that over 15 million Americans have a body mass index of greater than 40 percent (Genomics & Genetics Weekly, 2012). To put that number into perspective, people with a BMI (body mass index) of 25 to 29 are considered to be overweight while people with a BMI of 30-35 are considered to be obese. Some may ask what has led to this significant increase in obesity?
accepting soft drink and fast-food contracts because they provide large commissions for financially strapped schools. Obesity is a grave public health threat, more serious even than the opioid epidemic. It is linked to chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Obesity accounts for 18 percent of deaths among Americans ages 40 to 85, according to a 2013 study challenging the prevailing wisdom among scientists, which had placed the rate at around 5 percent. This means obesity is comparable to cigarette smoking as a public health hazard; smoking kills one of five Americans and is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
After watching the video about Obesity in America, I had a realization of just how bad it is today. There are so many unhealthy and processed foods that are available to and the majority of the time, cheaper, for Americans. Obesity rates are growing in most of america and has become a serious health problem in early childhood. One of the problems in obesity is the fructose found in almost every food americans consume. The food industry will advertise that their processed foods are the “smarter choice” but are still filled with sugar and other ingredients we are not meant to consume.
Looking at the people today it amazes me that we do so many great things yet we can’t control ourselves when it comes to what we eat. We have a community full of obese people except for a small part of the population. When you look outside you no longer see anybody walking around, there are only cars. On each street there are at least 10 different fast food places and occasionally you’ll drive by a whole foods, but it will be mostly deserted unless you’re able to afford the food in there. Everything you see is always in close proximity to make sure no extra walking is required.
Why is there such an increased number of overweight people in the U.S. compared to other countries? I feel like It has always sort of been a known thing that a majority of people in the U.S. are overweight but I never knew why, I am glad that I was able to find some research on it. According to Harvard Public Health, “While the reasons for skyrocketing obesity were largely elusive 30 years ago, they are obvious now. The modern food era has spread out a smorgasbord of hyperpalatable, flavor-enhanced, additive-laced, convenient, and relatively affordable foods that are high in added sugar, unhealthy fats, and salt, and engineered to overcome our internal homeostatic eating signals.
Death is inevitable, but premature death can be prevented. Obesity is ranked second in preventable causes of death in America, just below smoking tobacco. An active lifestyle should be practiced by the general population because, anyone can participate, there are many health and mental benefits, and age does not affect the ability to stay fit. There are many misconceptions that revolve around exercise.
The obesity rate in America today is unreasonably high and something needs to be done about it. In the article Taxing Junk food to counter obesity published by the Us National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health in 2013 and states “Several studies suggest that high taxes may lead to measurable decreases in obesity on a population level, particularly if combined with additional interventions”. This law needs to be legalized for the safety and health of our nation for these reasons: Our obesity rate is at a all time high, This has been implemented in other countries around the world, and it more expensive to be obese. Our obesity rate in America is at a high rate and is only increasing, we as a nation need to make an effort to lower this percentage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “69.1% of American adults age 20 years and over are either overweight or obese.
“I grew up in West Virginia currently the third-fattest state in America. When I was growing up, my mother cooked dinner every single day. Almost all my memories of her are in the kitchen. And we never ate out, only on those few, rare special occasions. Today, families do it all the time, and they're paying for it -- not only with their wallets, but with their waistlines.”
I believe that the weight hysteria that is affecting our society is very real. It is difficult not to notice the obesity trend increase without having to resort to scientific based evidence that demonstrates that obesity numbers are on the rise. I have worked in pediatrics for at least seventeen years and have seen first hand how this epidemic continues to slowly exhibit the long-term effects that it manifests. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), presents the statistical numbers stating that one third of adults in our country are obese, (CDC, 2016). This information should scare us, this is a problem that affects everyone, and starts to creep up in our very own homes.
The government should get involved in what the teens and kids eat at their schools to provide those healthier alternatives. Obesity in todays youth is possibly at its highest due to bad eating decisions and habits, as well lack of activity that they get. In Source A, one can see how by the government getting involved and putting standards that what kids should eat at school in the long run benefits the kids and helps provide them healthy habits. This shows how it’s a positive thing when the government got involved in deciding what we eat and how much of it we should eat.
Obesity Proposal Obesity is a major problem in the United States. With the rates on obesity constantly rising we have to come up with a way to solve the problem somehow. Fortunately, there are some way that we can help and that includes helping the youth understand obesity, encouraging restaurants to improve their menus and nutrition facts and opening space for citizens so they can become fit and active. One of the main issues as to why America is obese is because of all the opportunities they have available to them.
