According to some recent reports comparing the eating habits of America today to the consumption trends from the 1970’s, we have a lingering period of time before we get back on track to having a healthier diet; however it would not be like this if we would just learn to balance out the portions we eat better. The advocacy group The City of Science in the public Interest explains how we eat about five hundred more calories in our diet a day than we did in the 1970’s, three times as much cheese, and a great deal of sugar intake as well. More grains are put in our systems every day, and even though we do eat more vegetables and fruits today, it is still not enough to keep us healthy like we should be. Also America is not just known for the obesity rating but the death rates compared to other countries does not seem to make America number one on the best diet list.
"We have the best raw materials in the world, both quantitatively and qualitatively, but most of them are ruined in the process of preparing them for the table." stated H.L. Mencken in reference to America and our usage of food (Mitzewich). Food is a necessity for life and survival, however, with the structure of the American diet, the food we eat is assisting us into our [early] graves. Americans are highly unaware of what they are stuffing down their throats and even less unaware of the generational effects. With issues like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure one would assume that America would turn down a helping or two. The American diet is tainted because of the lack of interest in the origin of food, misinterpretation of food processing, and the desire to get that “full” feeling for as cheap as possible.
The American diet has become very unhealthy and not just the food choices made, but the lifestyle decisions that are made on a daily basis. Recently, diet styles have taken a turn for the worst. Americans today are making horrible decisions on what they eat and when they eat which can eventually turn into bad habits and later affect their overall health, but there are plenty of ways to overcome those bad habits.
The western diet exists as a way of life for most Americans. The typical western diet is full of chemicals and unknown ingredients. Today it is not viewed as the most beneficial diet for humans to consume. Those who live on the western diet are exploding with health concerns. Some major health problems range from type two diabetes, high cholesterol, to being overweight. These health concerns are growing. Today, foods have many unknown ingredients and just really are not food. Michael Pollan discusses these issues in his book titled In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Pollans’ goal from this book is to inform people, mainly the eaters of the western diet, what this diet is and what it contains. He furthers his argument on defying the food we eat in Part three, Chapter two “Eat Food: Food Defined”. Pollan, in this chapter, breaks down the foods we buy then eat, and how we should choose what to eat to better health and life. The problem is that everyone thinks they are eating real food. Pollan defines what the foods really are while also giving advice on what one really should be digesting.
We Americans are always on the go, no matter if it is on our way to work, school, or exercise. Most people are eating some types of processed food usually for almost every meal due to how quick it is to prepare. However, most Americans do not realize that the nutrition facts on the other side of their granola bar shows the ugly truth about what they are eating. Michael Pollan who is a highly esteemed author on this subject refers to the “Western Diet” as mostly processed foods. Pollan’s main argument is that Americans need to reduce the amount of processed foods that are consumed so that health risks will be reduced. Pollan says, “People eating a Western diet are prone to a complex of chronic diseases that seldom strike people eating more traditional diets.” Pollan believes that Americans are eating too much processed foods, and that it is making Americans fat and more vulnerable to many diseases. In other countries where processed foods are eaten on the same level as Americans are not showing as much
"You are what you eat", goes a famous saying. And if that is truly the case, then a lot of Americans would appear to be unhealthy, chemically treated, commercially raised slabs of animal flesh. And while that is not a particularly pleasant thought, it is nonetheless an description of the typical American omnivore who survives on the consumption of Big Macs and steak fajitas.But there are individuals who do not follow this American norm and have altered their diets so that they do not consume any meat. These people are vegetarians, and they are the new breed of healthy Americans who refuse to poison themselves with fats, cholesterol, and the other harmful additives that come from meat. And while once thought to be a movement that would never gain much momentum, it has nonetheless moved itself to the forefront of Americans' healthy diets.The word vegetarian, used to describe the diets of people who do not consume animal flesh, was not used until around the mid-1800s. The concept of vegetarianism, however, dates back much further.
Obesity has been identified as one of the risk factors affecting directly and indirectly the health outcome of the population. Even though many approaches and programs have been conducted in order to reduce the obesity rate, this health issue is still a big headache and keeps being put on the table. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overweight and obesity rate have been increasing significantly in the past two decades in the United States with more than 35.7% of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents from 2-19 years olds being obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). As Healthy People 2020 indicated, in the period from 1988-1994 to 2009-2010, the age adjusted obesity rate among U.S adults aged 20 and over increased from 22.8% to 35.7%, which means increased by 57% while the obesity rate among children and teenagers from 2 to 19 years old increased from 10% to approximately 17%, witnessing the increase of 69% ("Nutrition, physical activity," 2013). Obesity has impact both on economic and health of the nation. Obesity is the risk factor of serious chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, and other leading causes of preventable deaths ("Overweight and obesity," 2013). Moreover, obesity continues to be economic burden in terms of medical costs for either public or private payers up to $147 billion per year which increased from 6.5% to 9.1% (Finkelstein et al, 2009). In 2008, medical spending per capita for the obese or obesity related health issues is $1,429 per year, as 42% higher than “those of normal weight” (Finkelstein et al, 2009, p.8).
One of the most commonly discussed issues of America in the last few decades has been obesity. It remains one of the biggest problems in American society and requires a careful, systematic but also immediate solution. Obesity is a term used to describe body weight that is much greater than what is considered healthy. Today, 65% of adults in the U.S. are overweight and half of those are obese. The rates for children are smaller but they are not satisfying either: 15% are overweight and another 15% are headed that way (Lemonick). Besides the aesthetic problems for many people that this condition creates, it is most importantly known as the main cause of serious health problems as well.
Obesity is rapidly increasing in the United States. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), obesity is the fasted growing health problem in America1. When looking at the trends in the United States, it is estimated that approximately 33% of the adult population is obese and 15% of children, ages 6 and older, are obese1. Although not falling into the obesity population yet, two-thirds of the adult population may be considered overweight, and making their way into the obesity category soon1. It may be startling to most that current evidence suggests that by the year 2030, approximately 90% of all American adults would have become overweight or obese, and 51.1% of them would be obese1.
As it is known to all long, obesity represents one of the most worrying problems of Western societies, and particularly in the United States has an alarming character. It is because obesity affects the health of individuals in a direct way. The lifestyle and food are at the root of many of the problems of obesity in this country and others, who see how obesity is gaining ground so incessantly. It is especially worrisome incidence in childhood and adolescence, and that condemns millions of children to become overweight adults, with fatal consequences for their health ("Understanding the American Obesity Epidemic", 2016).