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Fast food leading to obesity
The boom of fast food causes obesity
The boom of fast food causes obesity
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Obesity in America
America is one of the most obese countries in the world and the reasons are quite obvious. Just take a look around you. There is a fast food chain restaurant at every block. Obesity continues to be a major problem. Between the years 1980 and 2000, the obesity rate nearly doubled among the adults in the United States. The sad thing is that even after knowing these facts, people do not practice healthy eating habits that can help prevent obesity, or at least lower the obesity rate. Moreover, the rate of childhood obesity has doubled in just 30 years. It is not the excess fat that is the issue; it is the problems and health risks that come along with it. About 70% of obese youth are at risk for one cardiovascular disease, including cancer of the breast, colon, kidney, pancreas, and etc. (CDC, 2013). “When it comes to carrying around extra weight, there is a price to be paid- medically, socially, professionally, and economically "(Reinert, 2012). Obesity is a fast growing epidemic among young adult due to diet choices and lack of exercise; two solutions would be funded health-monitored programs and guided active learning within classrooms to fight childhood obesity.
The Effect of Poor Diet Choices
First, the poor decision for diet choices reflects poorly as the obesity rate continues to skyrocket. Many blame fast food for being the number one cause of obesity in America. Processed corn selling in the form of fast food has become so cheap and instantly available that Americans cannot give up such an offer and think about eating healthy. All these poor food choices are available in so many different forms. Mary Lowth says a solution to obesity would include “putting food out of sight, diet, exercise and skipping de...
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...he lives of employers (Reinert, 2012).
Conclusion
Obesity is a steadily growing problem for Americans, especially for American children. Fast food indirectly affects the eating habits and obesity of people in the United States. There are several reasons of increasing popularity of fast food but it is a fact that fast food is not very healthy and balanced food. By avoiding such food one can easily get enough energy to exercise and cut the high-density foods. The growing cause of childhood obesity can be decreased if society focuses on the causes. Choosing healthier meals and exercising regularly can decrease the rate significantly. Focusing on these causes may, over time, decrease childhood obesity and lead a healthier society as a whole. Government funded health programs and active learning within classrooms are a great way to start in decreasing the obesity rate.
The problem behavior associated with individuals making bad food choices when presented with unhealthy food will need to be observed so that we may understand how to change this behavior as it is unhealthy and harmful to health overall. Are poor choices in different foods causing obesity? Making poor choices when it comes to food is an
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
One out of every three Americans is obese and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food became a big necessity. However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension” (May, Kuklina, Yoon). The food that they provide is made to be eaten quickly, causing problems for the digestive system. Also, the health problems lead to the use for health insurance, which adds to the costs of Medicare. Health care costs will only worsen an already failing economy. Therefore, the government should regulate fast food restaurants in the United States in order to repair the deteriorating health and economy in America.
In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.
Childhood obesity has been on the rise in the last couple of years. In the 1970’s childhood obesity was never a concern to the public until the number increased over the years. An alarming rate of 31% of all adults have been obese since they were children and the rates of childhood obesity don’t fall too behind with an 18% of children being obese. That makes almost half of obese adults and children. A child that is obese has a 70-80% higher chance of staying obese even through their adulthood if no action is taken. Childhood obesity is not something children are in control of, these children suffer from different outcomes since they can’t look after themselves and heavily rely on someone to aid them when they need it. These numbers can be drastically altered in a positive way by educating both children and parents about healthy, nutritious foods to consume, supplying schools with better lunch and healthier vending machines with healthy choices and promoting after school activities to keep children active and away from electronics.
The obesity epidemic is one of the most pressing issues at this point in both American society and U.S. public policy initiatives. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 35.9% of U.S. adults over the age of twenty are obese (CDC, 2013). The CDC further notes that 69.2% of U.S. adults twenty years of age and over are overweight (this percentage includes those who are obese). The obesity problem is not exclusive to the adults in the U.S. The CDC notes that 18.4% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are currently obese (CDC, 2013). These statistics illustrate the severity of the obesity epidemic in this country, but what can be done to address or even correct this problem? Many people have proposed solutions, but few are as radical as the proposal from Michael Bloomberg (the New York City Mayor) in 2012.
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).
Amongst one of the bigger health issues in United States children is obesity. Obesity is a condition in which a person has accumulated an excess amount of body fat that it has become detrimental to their health. To track this health professionals use the term “obese” when a person has a body mass index (BMI) of over 30. Although BMI should not be the only determining factor of whether or not you child is obese as it only takes into account of height and weight, it is one of the better known systems of telling whether or not a person is overweight or obese (Nichols). Obesity comes with a range of other health conditions that can include but are not limited to cancer, diabetes, and depression. Not only do children and teens who suffer from obesity acquire many health diseases, they also tend to get failing grades and are bullied amongst peers. Most Americans correlate being obese with having an unhealthy lifestyle, but according to a 2006 Fox News article there may be other factors that attribute to obesity that include smoking, medicine, pollution, technology and lack of sleep. (“10 Causes of Obesity Other Than Overeating”). One part that does although indeed play a role in to child obesity rates is economics.
Today, 78.1 million American adults and 12.5 million children are obese. Obesity in America is a unstoppable epidemic. Since the 1960s, the number of obese adults have doubled and the number of obese children have tripled. Because of America’s obesity problems, Surgeon General David Satcher issued a report saying; "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight," said that obesity "have reached epidemic proportions" in America. Obesity in America has no doubt reached epidemic proportions. Since 2001, America has been the most obese country in the world. This essay discusses what obesity is and how it is affecting today’s America by answers the following questions:
Since the 1960?s obesity in America has more than tripled regardless of sex or race. Today 30.5 percent, or 69 million, American Adults are considered obese (?AOA Fact Sheets? np). In addition, 13 percent of children aged 6-11 years old are considered overweight, and well on their way to becoming obese. Obesity causes over 300,000 deaths a year and costs the country $117 billion dollars, prompting health care providers and the government to label it an epidemic (?Overweight and Obesity?? np).
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem here in the United States. According to Schuab and Marian (2011) “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions” (P.553). The prevalence of child obesity and overweight has increased over the last 30 years all over the United States, becoming one of the biggest public health challenges (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, & Boles, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to give a background of the obesity epidemic, a review of current policy, and make a policy recommendation.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem among American children. Some doctors are even calling childhood obesity an epidemic because of the large percentage of children being diagnosed each year as either overweight or obese. “According to DASH sixteen to thirty-three percent of American children each year is being told they are obese.” (Childhood Obesity) There is only a small percentage, approximately one percent, of those children who are obese due to physical or health related issues; although, a condition that is this serious, like obesity, could have been prevented. With close monitoring and choosing a healthier lifestyle there would be no reason to have such a high obesity rate in the United States (Caryn). Unfortunately, for these children that are now considered to be obese, they could possibly be facing some serious health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancers. All of these diseases have been linked to obesity through research. These children never asked for this to happen to them; however, it has happened, and now they will either live their entire life being obese, or they will be forced to reverse what has already been done (Childhood Obesity).
The United States needs to do something to change the amount of childhood obesity in the nation. If the government requires children to take classes that require physical activity, abolishes school vending machines, and teaches children about healthy eating, then the amount of children that are obese in the United States will decrease significantly. Obesity is defined as the increase of body fat over time to the point where it can impact health in a negative manner and decrease life expectancy. Since the 1980’s, obesity has increased dramatically in the United States. Children have been greatly impacted in the increase of obesity. This is a major problem as someday these obese children could possibly turn into obese adults. If the population of obese adults and children keeps increasing, than not only will our country have a lot of severely unhealthy people but the cost of health care will increase dramatically.
Is fast food to blame for the growing obesity in America? Obesity affects more than half of the population. With so many Americans gaining weight and so many health problems the matter has to be addressed. There is no one would argue that obesity, especially the children is considered a problem. In any case the cause of childhood obesity is fought about daily. Many people will say that fast food restaurants are to blame. In my research, I will explain the argument that who is to blame for the obesity in America: fast food restaurants or common laziness from the obese society.
Society should consider the physical and emotional problems of obesity in our nation. “Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat (Mayo Clinic).” American society has become increasingly obese, “characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and physical inactivity (cdcinfo@cdc.gov).” Our nation increasingly has become consumers of a fast food diet. It is so simple to just pick up food on the go and not deal with the hassle of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. What are nation needs to acknowledge is the health risks they will obtain if they do not acquire a healthy life style.