Alternative Ways To Defeat Obesity Essay

As the obesity rate in America increases, people are pointing fingers at the fast-food industry. Teenagers, with the help of their parents, have filed lawsuits blaming fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s for their own health problems. However, parents, not the fast-food companies, are to blame for the amount of overweight children that are present today. They are the ones who teach their children eating and exercising habits, they are the ones who let their young consume unhealthy foods, they are the ones who allow their children to watch television and play on the computer for hours on end, it is obviously the parents fault for obesity in youth.

Because many parents are off at work providing for their families, this leaves most teens on their own when it comes to eating. Zinczenko himself writes, “My parents were split up, my dad

Obesity has become increasingly more prominent in American society. It is also a major health issue affecting many adults and children in the US every year. In his article "Don't Blame the Eater," David Zinczenko sympathizes with children who are suing McDonald’s making them fat. In his own experience as a “latchkey kid”, he knows how easily fast food makes teenagers put on weight with a steady diet of fast food meals. Zinczenko argues that both lack of fast food alternative companies and lack of providing nutrition information contribute to childhood obesity.

One in five children in America are obese. How is this possible? In Stephanie Soechtig’s documentary, “Fed Up” (2014), she brings awareness to a few of the causes of obesity and elaborates on the lack of effort people are putting in to end it. Food manufacturing corporations care only about strategic plans to put money in their pocket, not to help make America healthy. Obesity can be traced back to one main cause; sugar. The three things have been addressed through personal stories and physicians that support and increase sugar addictions of adolescents is the amount of added sugar in processed foods, junk food advertisements, and the lack of regulations relating to sugar. Sugar addiction is a real problem and is scientifically proven to be as addicting as cocaine.

One major question that is asked today is whether or not the eating habits of kids and teens be regulated by the state? This is a big problem today with young ones. No young teenager or child has ever grabbed an apple over a snickers bar for a snack. Although a snickers bar once in a while is not a bad thing, every day consumption of products like this creates a long-term problem. In the article Junk Food Nation: How Parents are Ruining Kids’ Health, there are a couple different standpoints from select individuals on why or how to solve this problem. The main issue is whether or not parents are doing a good enough job teaching their children to make health food choices.

Childhood obesity is a rather new reality in the United States due to intake of sugary snacks and beverages, childhood obesity is the result of a sustained energy imbalance. Most youth never eat the required daily servings of fruits and vegetables; its noted only one in five eat the required servings (21%) (Moore, Wilke, & Desrochers, 2017). The availability of sugary snacks and beverages in schools are what one would call “junk food”. According to a study conducted by Ashlesha Datar and Nancy Nicosia (2012) students could purchase more than one single food and beverage items either

Americans love to eat anything crazy. If a meal that has triple-wrapped bacon hot-dog fried in panko crumbs stuffed cheese that is filled with diabetes, Americans would devour it. Unhealthy foods have been apart of the American diet as a commonality, more than healthy foods should be. Unhealthy junk foods consist of unnecessary fats, oils, sugars, high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, and many more. Healthy foods have been increasingly disappearing from our restaurants every second. However, young people need a healthy diet to live a long and fulfilling life from self-inflicting diseases. Authors like Jane E. Brody, Mark Bittman, Alice Waters, and Katrina Heron all advocate for healthy foods. Jane E. Brody in “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause” describes the cause of the obesity epidemic and proposes many solutions against it. Alice Waters and Katrina Heron in “No Lunch Left Behind” discuss the accessible healthy foods students are in dire need of instead of the processed trash. Mark Bittman in “Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables” elaborates on the many benefits from taxing “bad food” and subsidizing vegetables such as reducing healthcare costs, improving health, and many more. All of these authors fight for a healthy American diet. As a fellow human being, this epidemic must be solved and it starts with youth. Many schools’ lunches and available snacks/foods are more unhealthy than to be nutritional. However, schools do try to combat junk food. Based on school data, surveys, and nationwide statistics, unhealthy foods should be taxed and healthy, natural foods should be subsidized and be more available for schools and eventually all people for a healthier lifestyle.

If one continually eats unhealthy foods, they can quickly become overweight. Moreover, this has become such a recurring problem in America that according to the National Institutes of Health, compulsive eating has led to obesity for approximately 35.7% of Americans. This number represents over one-third of the entire U.S population and will continue to grow unless it is addressed. In addition, it is critical that Americans learn to moderate their junk food intake to prevent the contraction of serious health issues. Sweenie states that, “Food high in salt, sugar, fat or calories and low nutrient content...provide suboptimal nutrition with excessive fat, sugar, or sodium per kcal. Such poor diets can slow growth, promote obesity; sow the seeds of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems, and osteoporosis.” These are exceptionally serious diseases that can often result in a severely hindered lifestyle or even death. In order to avoid these exceptionally undesirable outcomes, one must always remain aware of their daily junk food consumption. In Kirkey’s article, Paul Kenny, an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, states that, "It's incumbent upon people to make sure that they're more respectful and aware of what they're eating. Just be aware that there are dangers and risks associated. Enjoy (high-fat) food, but make sure it's occasionally and

In America Obesity has become an epidemic. It has claimed over 400,000 lives just in the last year alone. This is because 1 in 4 Americans eat at Mcdonalds and other fast food restaurants every day where they are served “toxic food”. With the rise of fast food all over the world obesity has doubled in the past 20 years. At this rate obesity is expected to pass smoking in deaths. If this trend continues 1 in 3 children will get diabetes and 1 in 20 will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. Also 17 million people have diabetes just in the U.S. Also Mcdonalds has spent over 1.4 billion on ads to promote their food.

Its lunchtime and you feel like you need something to fill you up and you need something fast so you go to your favorite fast food chain and get the greasiest meal possible because it tastes good, but that good taste is leading you down a road of death. The choices we make for our lunch or breakfast or even dinner will have a lasting effect on our health but we still go for that one dollar McDonalds burger that tastes really good and is so cheap that it would be an inconvenience to buy that five dollar McDonalds salad that would actually provide a healthy dose of nutrition to your body. Obesity can cause many lasting effects such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, joint problems, cancer and psychological effects. Today’s American society is at a very dangerous risk of death that they don’t even think of from all the food we eat that has no nutritional value to our bodies. Travis Stork, M.D stated, “Our food choices are so dangerously unhealthy that eating-related diseases send twice as many people

As the fast food world spread across the nation, obesity was shortly following in its footsteps. According to, “The History of the Fast Food Industry,” Since 1970 the amount of fast food restaurants have doubled, which equates to roughly 300,000 establishments in the United States. Ironically, 33.8% of the U.S. population is affected by obesity and 19% of children and young adults are also affected.

Unhealthy diets are becoming an increasingly profound epidemic affecting the United States of America. Bad eating habits/choices and health related behaviors are consequences to poor food choices which can later develop into detrimental health implications. The prevalence of these unsound diets among the American population has significantly increased in recent years. Unfortunately, studies have shown that like adults, many adolescents are also falling victim to the rising epidemic (Story, Neumark-Sztainer, & French, 2002; Wardle et al., 1997).

In addition to the corruption in super markets, fast food is a main contributor to the occurring obesity issue in the United States. And not only do these foods cause obesity, but may also may cause life-threatening illnesses, all of which can be prevented.

David Zinckenko argues in his article “don’t blame the eater”, that it is a matter of personal responsibility but can sympathize with the obese individuals as there is a lack of alternatives and information regarding fast food consumption. Society in the United States has raised concern about healthy diets, providing alternatives sources of food but unfortunately at a cost. The increased cost for a healthy diet dissuades teenagers from eating healthier food thus without a change of environment it can result in a lifetime of obesity.

There are many serious health issues today in society. A few of them are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, diabetes, and obesity. Today, obesity is one of the most popular diseases around the world. Obesity typically means having a body mass index of thirty kilograms or more. If taken in more calories than burned, it leads to being overweight, and eventually obesity. Since the 1960s, people in the United States and other industrialized countries have become heavier on average. Excess weight is the cause of more illness than virtually any other medical condition. Most people still do not practice healthy behaviors that can prevent obesity. Obesity is mostly caused by poor eating habits. People do not eat healthy foods, have larger portions than