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Summary: The Epidemic Of Obesity

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A well-known statistic for obesity in America surmised that at least one-third of adults, 18 and over, are obese, not just overweight, and that alone is extremely alarming. Realization did not dawn on the public until the early 2000’s when people began to sue and blame fast food companies for their health and weight issues. The companies responded by stating that it was ultimately the responsibility of the consumers; their health problems were a result of poor self-discipline and lack of restraint. Contrary to popular belief, people do not lack self-control, it is because fast food is constantly being pushed to the public and advertised as low in calories, when in fact there is so much more than calories, that more food and products are being …show more content…

The probable cause of this obesity epidemic is a combination of an excessive amount of advertisements, a lack of self-control in consumers, and food producers and companies not being completely truthful about what chemicals and ingredients are used in the products. For the sake of Americans and the future generations, the public must admit the faults in their actions and take the responsibility and dedication to fight back against the obesity epidemic; fast food companies and food producers must cut back on the ridiculous number of time and money spent trying to convince as many people as possible to buy the …show more content…

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the 1950’s a typical fast food burger weighed in at around 3.9 ounces, whereas now burgers on average weigh 12 ounces. This claim states that burgers have tripled in weight in the past sixty years. The CDC also stated that drinks weighed 7 ounces and a side of fries clocked in at around 2.4 ounces, currently the sides are, on average, 42 and 6.7 ounces respectively. To have burgers and fries three times the original size and drinks six times the size, cost only a few cents more, it is clear that portion size increases for a fraction of the cost has contributed to the obesity epidemic that America is so well-known for, not just the advertisements. These claims from the CDC are just an average that does not include local restaurants that have special burgers or food challenges that are colossal in calories, sodium, fat, and carbohydrates. In retrospect, though these food challenges are not meant to be meals to be consumed daily, just more of a feat to accomplish. Despite that, portion size has helped the obesity epidemic expand across the nation by overfeeding the

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