Obesity In America Research Paper

What is Being Done About Obesity in America?

Sayaan Saiyed

Edina High School

How Obesity in America

I choose to do my research paper on Obesity in America because it is something that need to be solved. Obesity can be caused by many different things such as genetics, various combinations of hormonal, metabolic, and behavior also appears to plays a role. In the last 40 years the epidemic has prevalence in the U.S has gone up by over 50%. So every two of three adults are now obese which is not good because now it is going to spread to the children. My personal connection to this topic is that a lot of my extended family has type 2 diabetes and I want to help my immediate family so we don't get diabetes. So what is America doing

to help prevent obesity. By examining evidence and background information about Obesity in America and discussing current actions being taken to address this problem, this essay will explore what is being done to prevent obesity in America and how big food companies are helping people eat unhealthy.

Obesity is the condition of being grossly fat or overweight. Obesity in America has gotten out of hand. Since the 1970s the obesity rate has doubled (National Center for Health Statistics, 2009). Now ⅓ of the population in America is obese.(CDC) We estimate that the medical costs of obesity could have risen to $147 billion per year by 2008. The average medical cost for a obese person was $1,429 more than a normal persons in 2008.(CDC)

What is the Government Doing to Prevent obesity?
Current things the U.S government is enforcing to help prevent obesity are they have set up a healthy meal plan in schools and prisons. The FDA have also created a guideline on what to have on the nutrition label. The FDA made the nutritional label guideline for big food corporations so people know what they are eating and how much calories, vitamins, or carbohydrates are in the item.

Physical activity plays a huge part in obesity prevention. On average a kid should play 60 min a day. The NFL plays a huge part in this because they created a program called Play 60. Play 60 is a program that helps you be active for 60 min a day. This is just one way of making sure you don't get obese. There are many other programs that you can join to make sure you get your daily exercise.

Big businesses play a big part in child obesity. Hershey spent roughly $441 million (mostly in television) trying to convince consumers to pick up a chocolate bar.

Television plays a huge factor for child obesity in America.

Food companies are targeting children to buy their product. According to the American Psychological Association obesity in children increases the more hours they watch television. Childrens exposure to ads about unhealthy food plays a big part in child obesity. In 2010 Hersheys roughly spent $441 million on promoting their products. (mostly on T.V)

Compared to the 1970s the advertising on television has increased vastly. Advertisers spent more than 12 billion per year to get kids to watch their commercials. On average a kid watches more than 40,000 commercials per year.

Harvard obesity prevention source did recent studies and the results were incredible. With the new information acquired from the research Harvard was able to make a list for parents to help prevent their children from becoming obese. If you are a parent and you want to protect your loved one you should limit the amount of T.V, Internet, and game consoles use for your child. Also encourage you kids to go play outside or do any physical activities, Encourage healthy eating habits, and Improving sleep and stress levels are important steps for obesity prevention.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-prevention/
http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/advertising-children.pdf

Overeating and inactivity aren't the only thing that cause obesity. There are many other factors that many people aren't aware of. Pollution in the air affects our hormones that control your body weight, some medicine cause us to gain weight,and smoking reduces weight, Americans smoke much less than used to. Obesity can also make your immune system weak which is why obese people have a greater chance of getting high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol level, cancer, infertility, Back pain, skin infections, ulcers, and gallstone. (Fox News June 28, 2006)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/06/28/10-causes-obesity-other-than-over-eating-inactivity/
http://www.mediweightlossclinics.com/patients/resources/articles/obesity-facts/

Are We as Fat as We Think? is an article written by Susan E. Matthews which states Sixty six percent of american adults are overweight or Obese.
In the U.S., 70.9 percent of men and 61.9 percent of women are overweight or obese, compared to 38 percent of men and 36.9 percent of women worldwide. Our waistlines start growing early — 28.8 percent of boys and 29.7 percent of girls are overweight or obese in the U.S., compared to 14.2 percent of boys and 14.7 percent of girls worldwide. ( Susan E. Matthews, June 03, 2014)http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/are-we-fat-think/ EDIT!! OWN WORDS!!!

In 1995 15.3% of Minnesotans were obese and in recent studies show that obesity has increased by over 10.2% in just eighteen years.

(Minnesota Department of Health) Obesity in Minnesota is a major health issue for both individuals and the community. Obesity leads healthcare costs to skyrocket and decreased productivity. In 2004 the financial burden of obesity was $1.3 billion that number increased by over 100% in just 3 years, In 2006 the financial burden of obesity was $2.8 billion

Minnesota has programs in place to reduce obesity. Minnesota Department of Health has created a program called Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP). The program make it easier for kids to walk to school nearby. SHIP want kids to be active and what better way to be active than walking to school everyday for 9 months. The Kingfield neighborhood of Minneapoli has gone through with this plan and they can see the results. The principle of the school in Kingfield said “Kids have created posters and signs in art classes talking about the health and environmental benefits of walking, and they’ve even carried them along their routes.” This just goes to show you how big of a difference walking to school can

make.
According to the food research and action center (FRAC) 14% of kids from ages 10-17 are obese in Minnesota.

How Does Obesity Affect You?
Obesity doesn't just affect you physically but it can also affect your mental health. An obese person usually has lower self esteem compared to a normal sized person.(BMJ Group Medical Reference) People that are obese tend to have a hard life because they are probably made fun of by other people. There is also a higher chance you will suffer form a mental health problem such as depression.