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unhealthy eating habits essays
the cause and effect of obesity
unhealthy eating habits essays
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One of the most unhealthy diets in the world is that of an American. It is made up of processed foods and a good amount of television. America easily has the most fast food restaurants in the entire world. Leave it to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King or any other fast-food restaurant to serve extremely cheap and even unhealthier food at any time during the day or night. ”It tastes good so why not?” That seems to be the question many people are asking now-a-days. Because it is so easily accessible and processed, it is made to be very tasty and extremely unhealthy. Many Americans find his or herself indulging on the these fatty foods of America on a day-to-day basis. While it may taste good at the time, it has a terrible effect on your body on a long-term basis. Eat it regularly, and it becomes a nasty and deadly habit and can cause heart failure, Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, high-blood pressure, and many other life threatening complications to the body. The American diet has a numerous amount of pitfalls and disgusting habits. The American diet is one of the worst diets because of its portions, processed foods, and how it is very cheap, but the American diet can be overcome with determination, a healthy diet, and an exercise routine. For a start, fast foods is one of the leading causes of obesity in America. Places like McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King sell oversized portions of processed foods at extremely low prices. Because it is quick and easily affordable it becomes a daily habit for more on-the-go Americans. Whats wrong with these foods that most of it is made with corn. America’s diet is a corn based diet. Ioana Patrigenaru writes in his online article about what is hurting the American diet, “The results showed th... ... middle of paper ... ...le can overcome with a little determination, a healthy diet, and rigorous exercise. If the nation can learn to discipline itself to eat less junk food and more vegetables and exercise more often then weight will be lost and self-confidence will raise tremendously. Works Cited Patringenaru, Ioana. "What Is Ailing the American Diet?" UCSD News. N.p., 18 June 2007. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Philpot, Tom. "The American Diet in One Chart, With Lots of Fats and Sugars." Grist. N.p., 6 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Richardson, Jill. "How America Is Making the Whole World Fat and Unhealthy." AlterNet. N.p., 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Ryssdal, Kai. "Processed Foods Make Up 70 Percent of the U.S. Diet." Marketplace. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Simon, Harvey. "Weight Control and Diet." University of Maryland Medical Center. N.p., 27 May 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Obesity is very common in America, around 66% of American adults are overweight and nearly 33% are obese, which leads to heart disease, cancer, stroke and many other illness. Furthermore, the consume of fast food is in my opinion one of the worst decisions we can make, the food may be cheaper but it leads directly to overweight problems, and it not only damages our bodies but they undermine local business, farmers, and in the process they support they massive slaughter of animals. Ms. Lappe states “…modern livestock production has steered away toward the industrial-style production to highly destructive overgrazing “(858).By consuming food from fast food industries we support the destruction of lands, and the poor conditions in which the animals we consume are suffering. Moreover, changing from consuming fast food to healthier food is in my opinion a transition every individual should make since we cannot keep supporting the companies that literally destroy our world and our body with our
For some time, scholars and writers have continuously debated as to what constitutes or defines the idea of healthy eating, mainly because of the increase in the number of people diagnosed with ailments associated with bad eating habits. It has quickly become the forefront of issue, particularly in the United States. In recognition of this on-going debate, this composition seeks to compare and contrast two well-known authors concerning how we think about and consume food. In Michael Pollan’s discussion, “Escape from the Western Diet,” he discusses the negative sides of nutrition science, including conflicting theories surrounding the elements of healthy food consumption and why solutions are essential for the Western diet and lifestyle. “Escape from the Western Diet,’’ is among the articles that talks about the eating habits of individuals in the society. In the article, Pollan points out not only the numerous conflicts concerning what types of diets – including carbohydrate-based, the inclusion of omega-3s, other nutrition-specific needs - that are believed to directly affect general health or specific illnesses, but also how western nutritionism compares to other countries diets affect longevity outcomes. In the end, Pollan suggests that the United States must seek solutions that move towards more natural, unprocessed, plant-based lifestyles that ensure that individuals are making what they consume a primary
The American diet is full of on-the-go amenities from an array of different meals; however, is this fuel actually causing harm to the body in the long run? What is in the American diet that sets American’s health apart from other parts of the world? The documentary Forks Over Knives states that “We spend 2.2 trillion dollars a year on health care, over five times more than the defense budget. In fact, we pay more per person for healthcare than any industrialized country in the world, yet we’re sicker than ever” (Forks Over Knives). Studies are finding that the excessive consumption of sweeteners, meats, and dairy products are many of the leading causes of American’s health failure.
Turn on your television and ads filled with beautiful fit people will promise that eating the newest diet will get you ready for bathing suit season in a matter of days. Many of these types of advertisements are offered by celebrities with absolutely no nutritional or exercise credentials, and the public buys into these claims spending $40 billion dollars on diet products a year. Unfortunately, these methods are not working and Americans are getting larger and suffering more weight and diet related diseases despite all of these healthy diets being offered. Often the research that supports these fad diets are sponsored by the very corporations that will be selling these diet products, leaving many consumers at a loss about what a healthy diet is. Michael Pollan, author of the essay “Escape the Western Diet”, opposes these trendy diets and offers that the Western diet is causing the obesity epidemic and its related disease processes. Pollan offers that the experts that hawk these diets cannot agree on what is or is not healthy and will entrench themselves in their beliefs at the peril of the everyday consumer. Pollan states in his essay, “while everyone can agree that the flood of refined carbohydrates has pushed important
Eating five to six servings of fruit, choosing whole grains or even just avoiding foods high in density can be a step closer to reducing chances of becoming obese or overweight. Mark Bittman in his article, “Is junk food really cheaper,” argues that Americans are wasting their money on junk food or fast food restaurants when that money could be used towards a healthy home cooked meal. He persuades the readers to have alternatives. Instead of buying McDonalds’ French fries people should get apple slices, instead of drinking sodas drink water, instead of buying junk food get vegetables. Bittman states, “The fact that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes.” I agree food (fast food) plays a huge role unto why Americans are so overweight. It is because fast food is so convenient and inexpensive to some. Even if a person wanted to eat healthy from a fast food restaurant, salads are more expensive than a burger or chicken nugget meal. How can a person with low income choose the “healthy” way when the healthy way is more expensive? Although fast food can be beneficial more so convenient in the short term, it can be very detrimental in the long term. One man filmed a documentary where he was supposed to eat McDonalds three times a day. Unfortunately during the film, he had to stop because his health started to fail. This shows that fast food is indeed not good for people’s
The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell) directly linked to the mental health of the brain and are negatively affected by high fat diets (4). Research has also suggested that having a poor nutrition status such as lacking folate (a natural water form of vitamin bg which is crucial for many of the bodies processes) and key vitamins like vitamin b12 significantly increases the risk of depression in elderly people (5). Research into the topic of dietary habits and mental health is very crucial with the growing rates of obesity and depression in the United States compared to the rest of the world. Thus, does having poor dietary habits increase the likelihood of having depression? The likelihood of developing depression has been linked to the type of diet one consumes such as the Western Diet, Diets Low in Fat and Carbohydrates and weight control diets like binge eating.
Greasy pizza. Fried chicken. High sugar drinks. These all aspects of the American diet. American citizens and the American government are well known for a certain disregard for healthy eating. Severe health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other weight related medical issues are steadily increasing. “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” by The New York Times, “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by first Figuring Out Its Cause” by The New York Times, “Give (Frozen) Peas a Chance-and Carrots Too” by TIME, and “Edible Schoolyard” by Alice Waters are four articles that discuss the complications Americans face when it comes to the fast food epidemic. Farming, government policy, and schools as well as homes should be making bigger strides
The American diet and lifestyle is different than all the healthier countries. Living a life on the go, eating fast-food and microwave dinners, the health of the American people has been sacrificed. Instead of eating a ...
Eating is extremely important, it is also important to eat healthy. Most Americans eat without any concerns; they are not questioning or researching what they are feeding themselves or their family. A lot of that has to do with their financial stability, not having the time to prepare a meal due to their time-consuming work schedule, also lack of knowledge and education on what they are consuming. In this bibliography, I will go over all three articles and explain what they are about.
The Mediterranean Diet is one of the diets that includes a high consumption of olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, and unrefined grains (Robson, 2014). Additionally, this diet recommends a low consumption of red meat, poultry and dairy products as well as low to moderate intake of wines (Robson, 2014). Research studies have revealed that the Mediterranean diet helps to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis as well as chronic inflammation indicated in diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity and other mental health disorders (Gostis et al., 2015). The Mediterranean diet contains anti-inflammatory properties, which aids in the atherosclerotic inflammatory process by using oxidative stress to improve the regenerative capacity of the cell endothelium (Gostis et al.,
A. This paper will consider the adaptations of the United States to a changing diet, from the early to late twentieth century.
Most Americans do not care enough to take a look at the nutritional values of the food that he or she is consuming. That is why America has the highest percentage of obesity in the world. This is a serious problem because one in every three adults is obese, and one in every six children is obese. There are many factors that go into the regular American diet, but most of those factors are not appealing nor is it healthy. Americans put way too much processed food into their daily diet. Some would say that other countries diets superior the American diet because of nutritional values that it carries. Other countries have proven that an active lifestyle is a huge element in the average weight of the country. There are many things that Americans could change about their diets and lifestyle that would help them to become healthier.
Americans made a big mistake back in 1916 that has changed the way other countries view America! In 1916 in America, the first ever fast food restaurant was opened. It was called White Castle, according to http://www.accupos.com/pos-articles/history-of-fast-food-in-america.php. Though this fast food restaurant did not affect people and their weight, until the end of the 1950’s, when people were inspired by White Castle to start their own fast food restaurants. Fast food is one of the main causes of obesity and causes many Americans suffer from chronic diseases, like gallbladder cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes, every year. Fast food has also shaped the way other countries see America.
In general, most of the people in the world today are unhealthy. The majority of the world’s population has acquired unhealthy eating habits. One contributing factor in the United States of unhealthiness is that the United States government does not have the control over the dispersion of unhealthy food that it should have. Another factor is that of the availability of fast food restaurants. The availability of fast food restaurants is one of the leading causes of obesity in the U.S. The United States of America government does not regulate unhealthy food as heavily as it should be regulated because the government allows many fast-food restaurant chains, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s,
...ng sugar and fats. The junk food companies know this, but they don’t care, because it makes them rich. In summary, this is why by law, all fast-food companies should have forced limitations on distribution which has lead to the rise of obesity in America.