Weight control is one of the most challenging problems facing American society. Obesity rates climb higher and higher while arguments about the reasons for this disaster seem circular. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines obesity as, “a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater” (U.S. Obesity Trends). The figures are shocking: as Alan Greenblatt reports, “nearly two out of three Americans are overweight or obese, and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled over the last 20 years.” Obesity causes a range of illnesses that lead to 300,000 deaths per year, and treating these diseases costs $117 billion annually (Greenblatt). There is no doubt that we are at the beginning of a challenging issue; however, there is still no unanimity in understanding the core of the problem. To stop this global danger we need to know its causes, but it cannot be done until the sources of the problem are clearly defined. Some blame fast food companies and lack of physical activity, whereas some prefer to lay the blame on the eaters themselves. It is still unclear even whether it is fat or carbohydrates that cause obesity. However, most of these discussions seem speculative. It is quite clear that the American lifestyle, with emphasis on consumption, is the main reason for growing obesity rates.
Indeed, the American lifestyle encourages consumption and it intertwines with the food industry. Heavy advertising imposes an image of a perfect consumer. People buy a lot and gain as much pleasure from their dollars as possible. On the one hand, fast food companies encourage consumption of their products, the automobile industry encourages the purchase of cars, and all other industries do the same. On the other hand, to consume, a lot of ...
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... one gets a clear picture of an animal that is fed off before being sold. An instinct of consumption cultivated by business giants has become a core of American lifestyle, and it makes Americans the obedient consumers of multimillion-dollar corporations.
Works Cited
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Rohrer, Jim. Controlling Your Weight: The Thinking Consumer's Guide to Weight Control. Amarillo, Texas: Pharmasoft Publications, 2005.
“U.S. Obesity Trends”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2010.
Wilder, Lora Brown, Lawrence J. Cheskin, and Simeon Margolis. Nutrition and Weight Control for Longevity 2007. The Johns Hopkins White Papers. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2007.
Obesity is on the rise, and it is becoming more and more of a national health concern. It effects more than 1/3 of the population, and an additional 1/3 is overweight. With obesity becoming more and more of a problem each year, the American population is going to suffer from a catastrophic health emergency.
American health, specifically our obesity epidemic, has grown into a trending media topic. A quick Google search will bring up thousands of results containing a multitude of opinions and suggested solutions to our nation’s weight gain, authored by anyone ranging from expert food scientists to common, concerned citizens. Amongst the sea of public opinion on obesity, you can find two articles: Escape from the Western Diet by Michael Pollan and The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food by Michael Moss. Each article presents a different view on where the blame lies in this public health crisis and what we should do to amend the issue. Pollan’s attempt to provide an explanation pales in comparison to Moss’s reasonable discussion and viable
Throughout the past years and more here recently obesity has become a fast growing problem in the United States and around the world. Since this has become such a problem certain authors are starting to take a stand in how they think the solution should be fixed. The solutions are discussed in the following articles: How Junk Food Can End Obesity by David H. Freedman and What You Eat Is Your Business by Radley Balko. Both articles have clear and distinct arguments, but the argument by Balko entices his readers and has a clear purpose and tone that allowed his article to be more effective.
Ambinder, Marc. "Beating Obesity." Atlantic Monthly Vol. 305, No. 4. May. 2010: 72+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
There is no doubt that obesity has taken its seat as one of the top disease that strikes the world today. In America, obesity has now spread through the country leaving 2 out of 3 adults either overweight or obese, and worldwide 1.5 billion are overweight or obese (Overweight). The cause of this disease stems from multiple reasons such as the increase in modern food production, putting out ample amounts of food causing the prices for meat, groceries, and especially junk food to plummet. Subsequently, Americans especially were more inclined to purchase more food and showed an increase in the average American house hold food intake by 1,000 more calories a day (Dreifus).
In 1990, obese adults made up less than 15 percent of the population in most U.S. states. By 2010, 36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher, and 12 of those had obesity rates of 30 percent or higher. (CDC) Today, nationwide, roughly two out of three U.S. ...
Today, 78.1 million American adults and 12.5 million children are obese. Obesity in America is a unstoppable epidemic. Since the 1960s, the number of obese adults have doubled and the number of obese children have tripled. Because of America’s obesity problems, Surgeon General David Satcher issued a report saying; "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight," said that obesity "have reached epidemic proportions" in America. Obesity in America has no doubt reached epidemic proportions. Since 2001, America has been the most obese country in the world. This essay discusses what obesity is and how it is affecting today’s America by answers the following questions:
Obesity is an epidemic in America, greatly impacting youth, the health care system, and economically vulnerable populations. Among all of the high-income countries in the world, obesity rates remain the highest in the US. According to Harvard, US obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980, although they have remained the same since 2003. (Harvard School of Public Health) Approximately 31.9% of children and adolescents from the ages of 2 to 19 are obese or overweight (NPLAN), while roughly 69% of adults fall into the category of overweight or obese. (Harvard School of Public Health) With obesity rates this high, America is facing a huge crisis that could become greater in the future. In order to understand the issue of Obesity in America it is important to evaluate the extent to which the problem effects large populations of children and adults and how the fast food industry has served as one of the major causes of this epidemic.
Since the 1960?s obesity in America has more than tripled regardless of sex or race. Today 30.5 percent, or 69 million, American Adults are considered obese (?AOA Fact Sheets? np). In addition, 13 percent of children aged 6-11 years old are considered overweight, and well on their way to becoming obese. Obesity causes over 300,000 deaths a year and costs the country $117 billion dollars, prompting health care providers and the government to label it an epidemic (?Overweight and Obesity?? np).
The government plays an important part in our safety, but many people think they take it too far. Recently, people have thought more and more about how much involvement the government should have when it comes to food regulations. Some people think the government's involvement in regulating food would greatly help obesity rates, and others think the country's obesity rates would show little to no improvement. Although no one cause of obesity exists, and no government regulations will likely alter someone’s lifestyle choices, the government should implement some regulations by implementing programs to educate and encourage citizens to lead a healthier life and by requiring companies to list a full disclosure of ingredients on their products.
According to the USDA, at the start of century 21st American people have increased their daily caloric intake by consuming five hundred calories more than in 1970. As cited by Whitney & Rolfes (2011), there are many recognized causes of obesity such as genetics, environment, culture, socioeconomic, and metabolism among others; but the cause most evident is that food intake is higher than the calories burned in physical activity. Excess of energy from food is stored in the body as fat causing an increase of weight. During the course of the last 40 years, obesity has grown enormously in the United States and the rates remain on the rise (pgs. 272-273).
8. Allison B.D. et al (1999) Annual Deaths Attributable to Obesity in the U.S. (Reprinted) JAMA, October 27, 1999 Vol. 282, No. 16.
Ogden, C.L., M.D. Carroll, B.K. Kit, and K.M. Flegal. "Overweight and Obesity in the U.S."
Wellman, N. S., & Friedberg, B. (2002). Causes and consequences of adult obesity: health, social and economic impacts in the United States. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition, 11(s8), S705-S709.
Over the course of the last few decades, the U.S. has seen a drastic rise in the spread of obesity. Through the rise of large-scale fast food corporations, the blame has shifted toward the mass consumerism of these global industries. It is, however, due to poor lifestyle choices that the U.S. population has seen a significant increase in the percentage of people afflicted with obesity. In 1990 the percentage of obese people in the United States was approximated at around 15%. In 2010, however, it is said that “36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher”(Millar). These rates have stayed consistent since 2003. The obesity problem in America is