Most people assume, if we eat healthy and exercise, we will have acceptable fitness. In yet over half of Americans are obese. To determine why our country is becoming increasingly overweight, we have to look at the term healthy. It is clear to see that America is steering away from a healthy lifestyle, and moving towards a sedentary one. Obesity is proving to be a long-term problem. It is time to change the way our society views healthy. The direct opposite of healthy is being obese. One way to solve the obesity epidemic is to contemplate the true meaning of health in terms of nutrition. By finding what makes people obese, we can discover the authenticity of healthy. Whether that be discovering the way people eat or what’s in our food. Defining …show more content…
When walking down a grocery aisle people typically choose the item lower in fat. The truth is many low fat foods and drinks are loaded with added sugar and are high in calories. The shocking reality of our society is the companies are aware of what they are doing. They are told to make their products healthier. In response, they dwindle down the fat and add the sugar (Quinn 5-8). Then they promote their new and improved “healthy” product for all to buy. It is the strong minded super companies that are making America obese. This information is publicly known, in yet no one is doing anything about it. We are all addicted to what we grew up with. Healthy is no longer an option for upcoming generations, unless they want to eat bland rice cakes for the rest of their lives. When people think food is healthy they take it upon themselves to eat as much as they want. Buying packages of food with 100 calories can do more harm than good. If someone sees low calorie, they are encouraging themselves to take twice the serving size (Whiteman 9-11). I fall victim to this. Somehow people think it will not hurt to take another serving because it is "healthy", but 100 calorie Fiber One brownies are not healthy. Overeating is a problem of this country and low calorie products are a cause of …show more content…
They are the epitome of poor nutrition. Processed foods are the beginning of high fructose corn syrup and the end of healthy life as we know it. Say goodbye to a strong heart and hello to a disease called diabetes (Mercola 2). Processed foods are teamed with artificial ingredients. No one should have to deal with red dye #2. Preservatives are another thing to watch out for. There are foods that have a better chance of surviving an apocalypse than the entire human race. Those types of foods should say warning on them, and have a caution on the label. Smoking causes cancer and processed foods can cause just about everything, including death. There is nothing good about processed foods. The only reason that companies even make it is for its long shelf life. Chances are people will continue to consume this terrible excuse for
It is natural for a society to be concerned for the future generations. With the rate of obesity growing in adults and children, many begin to see it as an issue that needs to be addressed. New reports show “ childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years” (cdc.gov). Overweight and obese are not actually the same. Overweight is defined as “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat,” and obesity is defined as “having excess body fat” (cdc.gov). With obesity comes the chance for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Both can be
A national epidemic is occurring, the war between food and people. In the United States, about “32% of children (from 2 to 19 years old) are obese” (Bernadac 1). As the years continue to go on the rate of obese children are increasing as well. In the past the problem did not have much consideration due to a low rate of affected children. Now families are suffering the long-term consequences of having an obese child. Some of those health effects are “Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis” (CDC 1). A problem with this type of drastic effects may have a solution; method prevention for the future generations and correct treatment for those who are already obese can lower the rate.
The sole purpose of a company is to offer goods and services while making a profit. If people have a liking for food products with so many unhealthy items and are willing to buy them, the companies have no obligation to reduce the amount of added ingredients. The companies aren’t the ones forcing the public to overeat. However, these companies shouldn’t market their products to people who they can easily exploit, like children and those who are penurious. Michael Moss, author of the article “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” interviews several people who worked for certain big brand companies and gives us an abundant amount of information on how the food companies make and market their food to “get us hooked”.
It has been all to prescient that we are beginning to blame other and outside forces for our weight gain and unhealthy diets, instead of looking at ourselves to blame. This doesn’t mean the people who are advertising foods that are bad for your health with false facts aren’t apart of it but they are only a piece of the problem. By teaching our generation about moderation and to be conscious of our eating choices is a way to get this “epidemic” fixed.
Zinczenko also states that, if you were to drive down any thoroughfare in America you are guaranteed to see a Mcdonald’s, but you are unlikely to find a place that sells any fresh fruits (Zinczenko 392). Zinczenko’s point is that the food industry’s unwillingness to promote more healthier foods is most likely the cause of the unhealthy diets of western societies. Another part of the problem is the pricing of healthier options, such as whole foods, fresh fruits, and low calorie snacks; all these foods are ridiculously overpriced compared to their unhealthy counterparts. One would think the food that is made to help prolong your life would be more accessible, instead it is the foods that are high on calories, fats and sugars that are cheap and available. Fast food companies go by the motto that cheaper is better, and it is how they compete with each other. Almost all fast food companies followed in McDonald 's footstep by creating a dollar menu, because they saw the drastic increase of McDonald 's revenue. When consumers see all these cheap meals for a dollar they readily buy their food from the dollar menus, rather than buying a single granola bar for the same price. In a society where most of the population is the working class, these dollar
The invasion of technology has long been assumed to contribute to the large number of Americans who are considered overweight and do not get an adequate amount of daily physical activity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of Americans who can be classified as obese. More than one-third of adults in the United States and approximately 17% of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are considered obese ("Obesity and Overweight," 2012). However, the number of unhealthy Americans is not the only thing rising.
Take a second to understand why fast food firms choose to sell products that are unhealthy. Their unhealthy products are in a high demand in the food market; in fact, they are simply giving us what we demand for. Most firms have started putting food labels on their menus so there is no room for excuse when making the right food choices. Nobody is forcing us to eat a whole box of Krispy crème donuts or a super-size meal at McDonalds. I believe that we are always looking for shortcuts in life and now we can anticipate there is a shortcut in what we put into our bodies. So we are consistently after things that are cheap, fast and affordable. Who better to attend to our needs than the fast food industry?
America is one of the most obese countries in the world, and the reasons are quite obvious. Take a look around. Fast food chains on every block, more and more technology to make our lives easier, and high amount of stress are just a few factors to weight gain in our country. There are many different views on obesity and how the people think it should be resolved, whether it's government making the change or the people taking care of themselves. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Are we doing enough to bring these statistics down? No. In the last 40 years, there has been a growth to more than 160,000 fast food restaurants in America (“Adolescent and School Health”). Restaurants (such as Wendy's, McDonald's etc.) serve more than 50 million people per day, generating about 65 million in sales annually. Only since obesity has become a national epidemic have fast food restaurants changed their ways. But we need to do more than just change the kind of oil the french fries are fried in. Better yet, why don't we remove, or intensely decrease the number of the unhealthy fast food chains, and spread more healthy fast food chains, such as Subway? Is it something government could take act in? Should the United States government take measures to fight the rise of obesity in the country, or are choices concerning diet and nutrition better left to the individuals, free of government interference?
When promoting plus sizes and television shows, are self-esteem or heart disease also being promoted? People throughout the world struggle with being anorexic, bulimic, overweight, or obese. TLC’s now popular reality TV show, My 600 Pound Life, displays the daily struggles of morbidly obese people. While encouraging women to love their body is appealing, there are many dangers in the fondness of obesity. Glorifying obesity can lead to being morbidly unhealthy, as demonstrated by Dominique Lanoise, a woman who died from morbid obesity.
There is an epidemic running rampant across the United States and most people do not know the effects it has on society; this epidemic is none other than obesity. In the last thirty-five years, the obesity rate has more than tripled. Obesity has many ill effects and is the cause of many diseases. Washington Post journalist Wil Haygood, elaborates, “A lot of our medications are for ‘disease states,’ such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, things that can be adversely affected by increased weight” (411). Speaking with a pharmacist, Haygood explicates how obesity can lead to serious disease and further health implications that are difficult to overcome.
Today I will be outlining my plan to help education parents and children alike on the dangers of childhood obesity. With this plan I hope to better education parents and children on how to prevent and fight this current health issue. As a parent myself I’m very interested in this topic and help solving this situation. This plan will discuss what childhood obesity how we can help solve this problem. With the proper education I feel we all can make better decisions in our children’s lives as well as our very own.
Processed foods are in everybody’s lives, but are they safe? Processed foods are foods that are in boxes, cans, or bags usually containing artificial colors, flavors, and other chemical ingredients that most people can’t pronounce or recognize (SFGate). Processed Foods may taste good but can have terrible side effects. Most people don’t see the harmful effects of processed foods. Processed foods should not be eaten.
By taking a stand against the rise of obesity, America’s bodies will be in healthy condition, and are able to be the positive motivation for others to follow. Once more people choose to live a happy and healthful life, the decrease of obesity will begin to show. The solution to solving the issue of obesity in America can be possible by: eating healthier foods, getting proper exercise, and setting boundaries on what fast-food industries can sell to customers. People need to get up and get moving for the problem of obesity and its trail of nasty effects will consume the healthy way of life everyone knows today.
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
“As a culture, we’ve become upset by the tobacco companies advertising to children, but we sit idly by while the food companies do the very same thing. And we could make a claim that the toll taken on the public health by a poor diet rivals that taken by tobacco.”(Moss). Consumers should buy less junk food because it causes a variety of problems. Junk food causes a major problem in the world today because it is addictive, causes many internal and external problems, and there are many ways to prevent a diet filled with these foods.