Achieving Better Health For The American Population

This article was to examine how the US government uses dietary guidelines for Americans and how the guidelines were supposed to help us eat and stay healthy. Diet and chronic diseases are sometimes connected. For example, it is proven that nutrient deficiency disease like scurvy can be cured by consuming the lost nutrients. However, it is also shown that some nutrient exposure can cause chronic illness such as energy, fats, sodium dietary fiber, and food exposures, etc. making it difficult to set dietary guidelines. In addition to some nutrient causing chronic diseases, nondietary factors such as stress, lack of exercise, smoking and other environmental factors are linked to causing chronic illnesses (Slavin, 2012).

Pollan defines the American problem as “unhealthy people obsessed by the idea of eating healthily.” (Pg. 3) The vast majority of consumers in our society are ones that envision themselves as striving towards a healthy lifestyle, yet many of these consumers don’t realize that in their attempts at eating healthy they are on a slow decline. A large sum of the population garners their information on which foods to eat from their daily news sources, trying new fad diets and picking up any food that Buzzfeed or the Huffington Post tells them will better their health (Pg. 1). This behavior in turn leaves those desperate for a slimmer and healthier bodies utterly confused and desolate.

Over the past few decades, deficiencies of essential nutrients have drastically diminished, many infectious diseases have been reduced, and most of the U.S. population can now foresee a long and productive life. In the meantime, rates of chronic diseases hefty portion of which are identified with poor quality diet and physical activity has increased. About half of all American grown-up have one or more preventable, diet-related chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes, and overweight and obesity.

America is a great country; with high emphasis on freedom, education, acceptance, and philanthropy, there is a strong basis to create a diverse, successful country. However, there is one aspect that America lacks: nutrition. The average American’s diets exceeds the recommended intake of solid fats and added sugars, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fats, and the average amount of calories consumed per American has increased approximately 600 calories per day. Clearly, America struggles to keep citizens’ diets nutritious. In fact, recent studies have projected that by 2030, half of all American adults will be obese (US Dept. of Health). At this rate, Americans will struggle

Apart from healthcare issue, the country has adopted the fast-moving life style, which has pushed most of our citizens to succumb to obesity as a result of fast foods. In fact, a recent report by the UN has ranked the United States as the most obese country in the world. Parramore (2012) outlines that, “Obesity is currently being considered as a national crisis in the United States and that it contributes 100,000 to 400,000 deaths per year. Statistics at the CDC and Prevention in 2010 indicate that 35.7% of the American adult is obese.” Many input trends exist in the American society, “First and foremost, people are highly used to fried foods, sugary drinks, and processed meats among others. There is also the sedentary lifestyle that has been adopted by many,” (Huffington Post, 2013). In fact, most of us love relaxing without exercise and too much television watching. These are some of the factors that contribute to obesity. The result is health complications problems such as diabetes, stroke, and heart disease just to mention but a few. These affect the longevity of life.

In Michael Pollan’s essay, “The American Paradox”, Pollan argues that American’s hold falsified ideas if one is more focused on nutrition. Americans have too much going on in their head with trying to be healthy, that they do not actually become healthy. The notion that “a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy” (Pollan 268) is what Pollan defines as the “American paradox”. The amount of time spent focusing on healthy eating habits decreases the joy one contains. Pollan identifies many issues that contribute to what is wrong with the way Americans think about eating today. For instance, we spend too much time and money trying to be healthy, we have strayed away from the past as new inventions occurred and last being we listen to “flawed science”. Despite the fact that many may say they see positive results from focusing on nutrition and health, Americans actually receive negative outcomes from nutrition and health.

Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously

I chose to address the questions what are the strengths and weaknesses of the American diet, as well as, what is distinctive about American food. I chose these questions to focus my research paper on because of the relationship between the American diet and health care. The United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, due to immigration, which is what makes it so distinctive. The diet also has many flaws including the cause for rising medical issues. I have a pre-nursing major, so diet plays a big role in the medical field. My purpose for researching the American diet is to be able to…. With the Industrial Revolution, the inventions of many new products such as processed foods, refrigerators, and fast food chains.

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

In America’s society today, Individuals are taking the blame off of themselves and shifting it onto the food industry. The food industry does indeed put up a very tempting environment for Americans, targeting unhealthy choices, but nevertheless, it is up to the customer as to what they spend their money on. Even with attempted changes in nutrition within the food industry, most people take no interest in it. But, when someone is motivated, results of a healthier lifestyle is shown in multiple ways. Americans need to realize that dedication can overcome temptation and not only lower numbers on the scale, but better their overall

In the past forty years, the average American’s weight has skyrocketed. This can be traced to the introduction of fast food into our everyday lives. Fatty cheeseburgers and grease laden French fries have replaced fresh fish and crisp vegetables. Americans have come to value convenience more highly than personal health and consequently we are paying for what we consume.

As seen during the eighteenth century, the presence of excess body fat was envied and very rare; seen only in kings, the rich, and the wealthy as a sign of power and prosperity. Once food shortage was no longer relevant, the 20th century re-assessed this “sign of power” as a sign of ill health, and was then documented in medical practices as the chronic disease known as obesity. As we look at the roots of obesity today, causes of the disease cannot be attributed to a single origin. However, there are many daily influences that justify our nations expanding waistlines; the most obvious being an unhealthy diet. The role of food in our society has altered the way Americans perceive nutrition. Meal times are advertised as social events; an instance of mindless eating, with little awareness on stopping when you’re full, and overeating as a result. Portion sizes are much larger than nutritionally necessary, and lack in substantial protein, causing you to

The choices American’s make about their eating habits has drastically changed over time. Today America is an obese nation, because food is everywhere: at the grocery store, on billboard signs, or even at the hardware store. There are statistics that prove America is an obese nation, the public just has to go search for those. Many diets and experts have tips to give to help American’s and others lose weight. This is the point that Susan Brink and Elizabeth Querna are trying to get across in their article, “Eat this Now.” Within the article, the two go in to detail about how Americans eat all the time. Brink and Querna’s article really bring to light the problems that American’s have by showing how American’s eat to

Throughout our entire lives, we have been convinced to eat “healthy” so that we can live a longer and happier life with low risks of diseases and cancers. However, what does it really mean to eat “healthy” since there are many health claims that are confusing us about what we should or shouldn’t eat. With the cloud of confusion revolving a “healthy” diet, Michael Pollan, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, writes “Unhappy Meals” detailing what it means to eat healthy. Although eating healthy is essential, there are factors that play a role into a person’s diet. For instance, in what ways does income affect an adult’s decision to eating “healthy?” Many people assume that a person’s ability to eat healthy is based on their

Our country is notable for countless aspects in its culture, one of the more prominent aspects being the American Diet. Though our diet is primarily a blend of foods from foreign cultures, there are distinct differences: portion sizes, excess empty calories, and overall nutritional value. To us, food outstrips the three main meals of the day – it is used to celebrate holidays, for comfort, and at many social gatherings. This is where the problem lies.