Obesity is a condition in which a person has too much body fat. It is categorized as having BMI(Body Mass Index) of 30 or higher. There are many causes of obesity such as behavior, genes, familial patterns, or environment. A person who watches television instead of being active is at high risk of being obese than a person who exercises and is active. If the parents are obese, then the children are also at risk of being obese. Diet also plays a major role in obesity. For example, a person who eats too much unhealthy foods and drinks too many soft drinks such as soda and Coca-Cola is also at high risk of being obese. Obesity, in both adults and children, is prevalent in the United States and around the world.
Scientists have linked the increased rate of obesity to the increased use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). High Fructose Corn Syrup is a liquid sweetener extracted from corn. HFCS was introduced as a sweetener in 1960s and its use rapidly increased in 1980s.It is mixture of fructose and glucose. “The two most commonly used forms of HFCS are HFCS-55 and HFCS-42. HFCS-55 is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. HFCS-42 is 42% fructose and 58% glucose” (Obesity & Diet: Facts about Fructose). HFCS is used in many foods & beverages such as soda, cookies, and even in tomato sauce. “It accounts for 40% of all the sweeteners used in the United States. Two-thirds of which is found in beverages” (High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Obesity). The reason why HFCS is used so much is because it is less expensive than sugar and it also increases foods’ shelf life.
Proponents of the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup in food say that it is almost same as sugar. Both the High Fructose Corn Syrup and sugar contain same amount of calories. So, how is High Fruc...
... middle of paper ...
...gh Fructose Corn Syrup is used in tomato sauce and salad dressing. This project was very informative and one message I learned from it was that read the label, because High Fructose Corn Syrup is in foods that you would not even suspect!
Works Cited
Chamberlain, Jacob. "Fructose, Corn Syrup Cause Excess Hunger, Obesity: Study."CommonDreams.org. Common Dreams, 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
Jedha. "Does High Fructose Corn Syrup Cause Obesity And Disease?"GoodFoodEating.com. Good Food Eating, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
"High Fructose Corn Syrup Consumption in the U.S." OneClickDiet.com. OneClickDiet.com, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
"High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Obesity." The Johns Hopkins White Papers (2005): 81. Consumer Health Complete. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
"Obesity & Diet: Facts About Fructose." Consumer Health Complete. EBSCOhost, Fall 2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Forristal, Linda. “The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup.” Westonaprice.org. Ed. Linda Forristal. 2003. 24 July 2008. .
Fructose is having a negative impact on the modern diet, but a broader lesson than “fructose is the problem” will lead to better results. Looking back to America before Nixon signed the farm bill provides guidance.
The food that we as a nation consumes reflects the health and well being of the American people. We have become so accustomed to fast food and easy, unhealthy, diet choices that diseases like diabetes has become very prevalent and on the rise. One in every three Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. In the film “Food Inc.” takes a look into a typical grocery store and reveals the illusion of variety. Most of the food in the industry leads back to corn. High fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch, is found in many of the foods and beverages that we consume. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. Corn has become very affordable and abundant and big food
Beil, Laura. 16 May 2013. Sweet Confusion: Does High Fructose Corn Syrup deserve such a bad
The use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contributes drastically to obesity. In the normal process of glucose consumption the pancreas responds by producing insulin to transport sugar to the body cells to use as energy. It then stimulates the production of the hormone leptin, which regulates appetite and fat storage, and suppresses production of the hormone ghrelin. When properly functioning, these hormones serve to regulate food intake and cause hunger to dissipate. However, fructose (the most commodious substance in HFCS)
Obesity in America has risen dramatically in the last forty years. Many believe high fructose corn syrup is to blame for this and other health related issues like diabetes and high blood pressure. High fructose corn syrup was invented by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi in 1957 (Production of high fructose corn syrup). Scientists have done tests and many reports and found many statistics showing the same thing: once high fructose corn syrup (or HFCS) was added to food and beverages in 1975, obesity rose without warning. The U.S. has the highest obesity rate in the world: “roughly two-thirds of adults and one-third of young people in the U.S. are now overweight or obese” (McMillen). That’s a massive amount, and it’s growing at a steady pace with little sign of ending any time soon. We also eat more mass produced food than any other country in the world. High fructose corn syrup has taken over the food market and has found its way to almost all of our food and drinks.
"Nutrition and Healthy Eating." Artificial Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes. Mayo Clinic, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
While the culture still seems to view drinking as a negative substance, culture does not view the consumption of a soda, or, sweets as a totally negative thing. Todays culture does not view eating or drinking high fructose corn syrup nearly as negative as drinking. In the early 1900s, America was mainly the only culture of society affected by drinking. In todays society, not only is America severely affected by obesity, but the problem is not limited to just America; many countries in todays society are affected by this epidemic. In the 1820s, farmers could turn their corn into pork or alcohol. Today, you can turn corn into anything from chicken nuggets, and hamburgers to emulsifiers and Nutraceuticals. In 1985, the consumption of all added sugars, has clambered from 128 pounds to 158 pounds per individual.
It is in soda, condiments, bread, cereal, and much more. It’s even in some cough syrups. After seeing King Corn, I checked my fridge and pantry, and almost everything has high fructose corn syrup in it. Over 50% of the corn produced is fed to animals.
In the documentary “How To Get Fat Without Trying” a different view on obesity is debated. The view of the author is said in the beginning of the documentary when he states that the government and the food industry is to blame for the rise of obesity in America. His reasons for making this statement is due to the fact that the government is in a way enticing us Americans to eat more food, and the food industry is encouraging our society to eat more junk food. He then supports his reasoning by stating that the use of high fructose corn syrup, which is basically sugar, has greatly increased over the past few years. This is because high fructose corn syrup is now in many of the foods we eat such as candy, pretzels, and hotdogs, so an increase in these foods leads to an increase in the corn
Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).
HFCS is being used for almost every food product in the food industry. However, if we look at HFCS from a limited point of view we just see it as something present in our food and not the health factors behind it. HFCS can be habit forming since it is a sweet replacement for sugar and in his article Peretti mentions that David Kessler said “sugar, through its metabolisation by the gut and hence the brain, is extremely addictive, just like cigarettes or alcohol.” People enjoy the taste and because of this they consume large quantities, which lead to health factors such as: obesity, diabetes, heart problems, infertility, liver problems, and so on. Our limited perspective may cause us to lose sight of how much of a risk HFCS possess. In my case I use to think that my family gained significant amount of weight only through fatty foods and...
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a main ingredient that is used in soda, and has been proven to be more addictive than narcotic drugs (Cooper). The boost of energy you get when drinking a can of soda is not from the caffeine alone, but it is paired with high fructose corn syrup. In an interview with Hyman, David S. Ludwig, (Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School) when speaking upon the dangers and risks of drinking sugary-drinks, was quoted saying “high fructose corn syrup is one of the most misunderstood products in the food industry” (Hyman). HFCS is cheaper than cane sugar, but still holds a significant amount of sweetness and addiction. Studies have shown that people who try to remove high fructose corn syrup from their diets suffer
With the increasing use of high fructose corn syrup, the national obesity rate has sky rocketed. Run-ins with health problems are inevitable at this point. A pointless, yet popular debate is if there is a connection between the two. High fructose corn syrup was chemically designed to be as similar to table sugar as possible. Though, the human body handles the two surprisingly differently. With disregard to the type, high amounts of any added sugar, contributes to weight gain, health issues, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, all increasing risk of heart
Obesity, also referred to as being overly overweight, is a condition caused when one eats excessive amounts of food leading to storing more calories than one burns. These calories are stored as fats1. Obesity can develop from several causes and is usually influenced by genetics.