American Diet / Nutritional Nutrition

The traditional American diet was simple, it was homemade, it was composed primarily of minimally refined ingredients, it was low in added sugars and fats, with the fats coming primarily from animal sources, and required effort to produce, by comparison, the contemporary American diet is much more diverse it's composed a lot of “palatable” sometimes artificial materials, its commercially engineered and sold, it's composed of refined ingredients, it's high in added sugars and fats with the fat coming primarily from seed oils, and requires minimal effort to procure(Pillsbury). At the same time as modern medicine is conquered the leading killers of the 19 century such as infectious diseases modern culture has created a whole new set of epidemics that we must now cure.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans,2010 contains recommendations for healthy food choices and physical activity for the nation. This report is updated and issued every 5 years by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The information that is presented is fostered by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee which consists of scientific experts. The goal of the document is to increase knowledge and to put what is learned into action by facilitating heathy eating as well as regular physical activity, with its latter purpose of improving the health of all Americans ages two years and older.

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.

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.

The state of the American Health in the U.S has become an increasing concern of many Americans. An article entitled “11 Facts about American Eating Habits,” addresses the state of food in the U.S by stating, “Healthiness of the food we eat decreases by 1.7 percent for every hour that passes in the day.” Experts and scientists in the U.S has raised questions about regarding the different ways food is now being produced. While individuals are usually not aware of the ingredients that food contains, many people continue to have unhealthy eating habits. In the past few decades, food production has included numerous artificial ingredients that are said to be the cause of various health problems. Various artificial ingredients that are commonly

In 2013-2014 37.7% of adults 20 years of age and older in the U.S were obese. Among racial ethnic groups white Non -Hispanics had the lowest rate of obesity at 36.4%. Black and Hispanics populations had rates of 48.4% and 42.6% nationally. The rate for Black non- Hispanic groups were 1.5 times higher than the rate for white non- Hispanic groups.("Healthy People 2020," 2014, p. 3).

America is one of the largest countries in the world, and the population is one of the largest also; but not in numbers, unless those numbers are on a scale and coincide with the amount of excess fat that is on the average American. In asking why Americans are so overweight, the fast food industry is not to blame entirely. Although Americans consume more fast food than any other nation and the mass of the population reflects this fact, no one is forcing anyone to eat fast food. Americans eat so much fast food because they are lazy, hurried, addicted, and financially downtrodden. Because of these lifestyles and misfortune, America has become overweight-- an epidemic for which there does not seem to be a cure.

Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).

According to one of my classmates where he resides Hispanic and African-American people who resides in the Bexar, Texas area obesity which is a condition that involves an accumulation of too much body fat to an extent that it will negatively affected someone’s health. There are lots of things that give to obesity like too many calories, lack of exercise and physical activity and in some cases its simply genetic. Obesity in this area is a public health problem because of cost and the effects on health. It increases the chances of getting diseases like, “hypertension, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, stroke, Type 2 Diabetes, sleep apnea, and some cancers. It is estimated that African-Americans 39.7 and Hispanics are 29.00 percent of

Dietary Guidelines for Americans has been published since 1980. It was formed as a textual document by The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion in the USDA and the Health and Human Services Department of the US. It has been updated every five years since 1985. Its sole purpose is to make dieticians and health professionals aware of the recommendations about healthy and nutritionally adequate diets to promote healthy eating and prevent chronic disease for current and future generations in Americans. Having doing so, it has provided many Americans with a greater understanding and the importance of healthy eating and how certain foods and beverages affects the health.

“Dietary patterns of Americans differ widely, but most Americans eat a diet that could best be described as in need of improvement”. Compared to other countries, the American diet is very different. I have first hand experienced how much different Americans eat from other countries. For a brief, but very beneficial and productive time, I lived in Barcelona, Spain with my host family. Over in Spain, they eat much more fresh, organic food. There was a lot more seafood in the average diet. The meal configuration over there is also different than ours. Lunch is the largest meal eaten every day; different than America, where dinner is the largest.

First of all, humans in general have started getting overweight. Half of which is their fault mostly because they control what they eat and when they eat. Since 1970, the amount of fast food restaurants in business doubled,

From 1960-62 to 2005-06 the number of obese Americans almost tripled from 13.4% to 35.1% (Weight-control Information Network 2). These two extreme upward trends might make a convincing case that the extra fast food intake has caused the hike in obesity rates, and it may very well be a good indication, but it is far from proof. Too many things have changed over the years, from the way the average American exercises, to the types of other food that people are consuming.

Let's be honest, the Standard American Diet is out and out SAD. With prepared "brisk and simple" sustenances, quick nourishments, and hereditarily adjusted nourishments, out bodies experience a considerable measure in only one day.

Some may even argue that people are born with the “obese gene” and blame the condition on heredity. However, there are several social factors which contribute to the epidemic. Studies have shown that poverty rates for minority groups, such as Blacks and Hispanics, are significantly higher. Furthermore, Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to become obese than Whites. This isn’t just a coincidence. The United States has a long history of inequality and disparities between races. The country’s economic policies tend to favor the wealthy so it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that there is a huge wealth gap between people of color and Whites in America. This gap is large enough so it defines the standard of living in the U.S. The poor population of the country is unable to live up to that standard and hence, faces many issues. Obesity is just one of them.