Obesity has increased rapidly throughout the years, especially in the United States. As of today, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults in the U.S are considered to be obese. We all know that obesity is becoming a serious issue in the lives Americans. The effects of obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and in serious cases, death. So the question we can all ask is, “What is the cause?” The cause of obesity can come from, but is not limited to, some of these things: eating habits, lack of exercise, or a medical condition. Eating habits have become a cause of obesity because most people in America decide to take the fast route. Fast food has become so prevalent in the day to day lives of so many families and individuals. The cost and convenience of fast food has led to an increase in consumption, which does not help our cause. According to Carey Polis’ article in The Huffington Post, fast food is about $550 cheaper per year than choosing the healthy option. That means people are more likely to choose a cheeseburger from McDonald’s over fresh fruit and vegetables from the produce section at the grocery store. Along with how cheap it is to get our hands on fast food, the convenience makes it even more difficult to resist. With a fast food restaurant on every corner of every block in town, it makes it much easier for someone to pick up on a meal on their daily commute rather than actually trying to cook something healthy. Choosing fast food is not the most nutritious way to go either. Fast food is filled with sugar, fats, salts, and calories. It is usually low in nutrition and high in what are considered to be “empty” calories. By definition obesity is caused by the excess in... ... middle of paper ... ...ers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 01 May 2014. "CDC: 80 Percent of American Adults Don't Get Recommended Exercise." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014. Hoffman, Beth. "It's Convenience, Not Cost, That Makes Us Fat." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 17 July 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. "Medical Causes of Obesity." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014. "Obesity - Causes ." Obesity. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014. Polis, Carey. "Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Sifferlin, Alexandra. "New Genes IDd in Obesity: How Much of Weight Is Genetic?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 02 May 2014. Waehner, Paige. "How Alcohol Can Affect Your Weight." About.com Exercise. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
In “Bad Food” – What’s the Best Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables”, Mark Bittman suggests that the people of America should stop eating unhealthy foods so often. In the article, Bittman tells his audience that people with “heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all in large part caused by the standard American Diet” (page 35). He also states that eating healthy can result in a better health care system, saving millions of lives. The big issue is Americans eating unhealthy every day, but proposing a plan to help stop it from happening.
Holden, Diana. "Fact Check: The Cost of Obesity." CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Feb. 2010. Web. 06 May 2012.
Obesity remains an extremely serious issue worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now dramatically increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continue to soar. CDC (2009) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According to NHANES over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (CDC, 2009). Treatment for this illness varies; it may include the incorporation of diet, exercise, behavior modification, medication, and surgery. Since there is no single cause of all overweight and obesity, there is no single way to prevent or treat overweight and obesity that will help everyone (CDC, 2009).
Obesity is an epidemic in America. Fast food can be compared to the same type of mindless addiction as cigarettes, and can be equally as dangerous. Not only is there a problem with fast food restaurants, but the food industry as a whole. Slaughterhouses that control 80% of the market produce meat in such a way that is not healthy for consumption, in turn the products are doused in harmful chemicals and still served to the public. No wonder the obesity rate in America is 69% and rising. Obesity is a true problem in our country- people are neglecting their health and quite literally eating themselves to death.
adults are obese. Additionally, the leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease, which is more often than not tied back to obesity and all of its factors. Knowing the causes of obesity is important to conclude whose responsibility is what. Some of the causes are related to genetics, overeating, people’s diets, and how frequent people eat. Some others are lack of physical activity, lack of necessary medication, and use of certain medication. Obesity can also be caused by psychological factors and social issues. Social issues can be anything from lack of money to purchase health foods to lack of safe places to walk or exercise. All of these causes are what makes it difficult to put the blame on a single
Polis, Carey. “Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals.” The
In the United States, there are many people who believe that if it wasn’t for fast food restaurants, they would be eating healthier and wouldn’t be overweight. People have even tried to sue fast food restaurants for their own self esteem issues. It’s ironic that people actually blame fast food restaurants, such as McDonald’s, for being obese. While fast food may be one of the contributors to the obesity outbreak, it certainly doesn’t stand alone. There are loads of reasons why people living in the United States are overweight. Some of these reasons involve dilemmas within the school arrangements, peer pressure, family genetics, educational issues, and even where a person lives. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion said that “Some illnesses may lead to obesity or weight gain. These may include Cushing's disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause weight gain” (Overweight and Obesity, www.cdc.gov). Even though obesity has become a major problem in the United States today, the percentage in general, of obese human beings would definitely decrease if people would exercise more, eat healthier, and change their diets.
Obesity is a physical condition that is associated with having excessive and unhealthy amounts of body fat, often caused by individual behaviours, social factors and genetics. It is the interrelationship of these determinants that result in the poor overall physical health of an individual and the broader population. To improve on the significantly high levels of obesity in the population, all detrimental causes of the issue need to be addressed extensively and promptly.
Millions of American people buy fast food every day without thinking about where, how and why. The ramifications of fast food is impacting the American people both around the waist line and the community where they live at. “As the old saying goes: you are what you eat.” (Schlosser) The customer have made the choices to eat fast food or not. The industry doesn’t care about the customers; studies have shown that the fast food industry is the reason for the rise of American obesity. “Live fast and die young” (Moore); this could not be more true when looking at the impact of the fast food industry.
One out of every three Americans is obese, and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food has become a big necessity.
Obesity can be caused by a combination of fast food and the environment people live in today. Fast food contains foods that are high in fats, sugars, and starches. These ingredients have rarely any nutritional value to the human body. Most of the foods available at fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC contain concentrated salt and preservatives to enhance the flavor in them. Obesity has become the defining aspect of our nation by surrounding the people with fast food products. The freedom to choose what one wants, gives the fast food companies the right to give one unhealthy food. The consumption of fast food products regularly greatly increases one’s chance of having health disparities such as Coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers, stroke, Hypertension, and Osteoarthritis. These negative effects are present with the daily eating of fast foods.
“Americans now spend more money on fast food than on college education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, and recorded music-combined.” (Chew On This, Eric Schlosser & Charles Wilson) Academia debates about the affair of the cause of obesity in America because present day Americans spend more money on fast food than their hobbies, cars and education. By examining primary and secondary sources, manifestation can be overseen whether or not the consumer or fast-food industry is responsible for obesity in America. Food editor J.M. Hirsch, reports for CBS News, “It's not the industry's fault that people don't get exercise, or that schools have cut physical
The connection it has with the obesity is that the epidemic is caused by high consumption of fat, sugar, and salt (Hogan). Fast food is literally contributing to obesity by providing unhealthy food restricted to people at risk for obesity and even with those with obesity. In the article Fast Food, David Hogan found out the most fast food restaurants’ menus offer burgers, fries, soda, and desserts. Those types of food are unhealthy where burgers contain the high amounts of fat, fries contain a lot of salt, while sodas and desserts contain excess amounts of sugar. These types of food are considered as junk food that the body does not necessarily need to consume, but they are often eaten for the delicious taste from the high amounts of fat and sugar they contain (Wolin and Petrelli). Fast food is also providing quick service by frying a lot of the foods to provide a quick service and hot food (Hogan). Fried food is considered unhealthy from the high amount of fat needed to cook the fried foods which is restricted to those with obesity (Wolin and Perelli). Hogan also noted that McDonalds and Burger King are fast food restaurants that regularly compete in the fast food industry. Since unhealthy delicious food has been on demand in the food industry for many years, these fast food restaurants compete by serving those foods to stay in business (Hogan). Obesity is therefore
Did you know that 67.7% of the U.S. is obese? Most obesity is caused by eating too much sugar period.Sugar causes other things, other than obesity.Things like diabetes and high blood pressure.Sugar is one of the main causes of obesity in america today.
Many people in America will argue that junk food and processed foods are the leading cause of obesity in America today. Scientist’s do not prove that any processed food is the cause for health problems. In your article, you address the issues of wholesome food being costly and less accessible. You also address that junk food is not the only factor to obesity, and junk food is healthier in some cases. The calories a person intake on a daily is also a factor when it comes to obesity, and the industry such as fast food restaurants and convenient stores also are other causes that lead to obesity. I feel that your article was persuasive because you were knowledgeable and logical about the problems with junk food, processed