Argumentative Essay: The Epidemic Of Obesity

In America almost two thirds of the nation is overweight. That is about 79.6 million people who are obese. Fast food is without a doubt the problem why these statistics are so high. According to Shannon Brownlee, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee “ It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” she mentions how fast food corporations are luring buyers into their offers . In another article by David Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home” he focus more on self responsibility rather than fast food restaurants being convenient everywhere you go. In America, the obesity epidemic is caused by the lack of parent not taking full responsibility for their childrens health, as well as fast food industries distorting portion sizes in order to make more

Since the 70’s there has been a massive decline in health and a very huge increase in diseases related to processed foods, and the unhealthy eating habits due to eating all this garbage that has sadly taken over many Americans diets. Which has changed throughout the years for the worst. Our generation has the ability and determination to change such things if we have a reason for which to do it. We are the future of America and future parents and should not let these problems move on to our children’s generation. Imagine you as a parent with a child that is overweight and has high cholesterol or is diagnosed with a disease that is life threatening his life just because you let him eat anything he wanted instead of taking the time to prevent all these problems that are affecting his life with simply spending a bit more time to prepare foods this would be selfish of our part. This is what is happening throughout America some people just do not care anymore. In the article “ FDA Regulation on Fast Food” Gerald Hanks pronounced that as a preventative measure to food-borne illnesses the FDA requires fast food employees to complete a food handling course (2). This is what happens when you get when you go to these fast food places food borne illnesses like obesity and heart disease. That come from these processed

As years go by American weight struggle has been getting worse. People with diabetes today has more than double since 1994. While there are ways to help bring down obesity, most companies have not taken action. There are many factors to why obesity has only been increasing all these years.

The problem with food production in America is the mistreatment of livestock, the overproduction of corn in America, and the amount of corn feeded to the animals ; these issues affect consumers’ health because of the amount of diabetes has been increasing over years. Michael Pollan in "When a Crop Becomes King” he explains that the government pays for corn to be grown a lot more then it should be ,David Barboza in the article “If You Pitch it , They will Eat It” the way companies just want to get into kids mind by tricking them into telling their parents to buy them unhealthy food just for the toy it comes with, In “Pleasures of Eating,” Wendell Berry most of the people just rather be eating out then making food. There is uncertainty about the way food is produce because we cannot control people on what they

More than half of adults in the United States are considered to be overweight or obese. America is becoming unhealthy and it needs to change. Adults should exercise daily. Daily exercise can stimulate happiness, prevent or delay disease, and affects health positively. First, exercise causes the brain to be more alert which has a positive impact on the human body, creating a great feeling psychologically that can be associated with happiness. The world will be a happier place with happy people. Furthermore, disease is a large epidemic today, but did you know that daily exercise can help prevent or delay disease? Doctors could diagnose their patients sooner rather than later, resulting in a healthier treatment plan and then a healthier Earth. Finally, daily exercise is just an overall helpful key to good health. The less fat an adult has on his body, the healthier he could potentially be. With that being said, hours and hours of physical activity are not needed, but as little as 15 minutes a day could benefit human lifespan. Overall, adults should exercise daily because exercise stimulates happiness, can prevent or delay disease, and affects health positively.

After reading chapters 15 and 21 in our Current Issues and Enduring Questions book and viewing Forks Over Knives, I am afraid I do not see this worrisome food issue in America improving in the near future. Obesity is a known epidemic and it is widespread throughout the entire country. According to the documentary film, Forks Over Knives, “We spend $2.2 trillion a year on healthcare: over five times more than the defense budget.” This quote reveals the issue regarding the state of health and by maintaining a healthier diet not only do people benefit, but the government does as well. The current relationship between food and health industries brings an uncertainty that should be seen as a critical concern to the eyes of the public. Too many people

In the article, “Goodbye Big Soda: New York Becomes First City to Ban Large-Sized Soft Drinks,” “...two-thirds of American adults now considered obese… and nearly 40% of the city’s [New York] public elementary and middle school students…” (Park). The harsh reality of today is that America is fat, and it is embarrassing. This is partly due to the fact that some people have no self control when it comes to food and it has gotten out of hand. Society is so quick to blame the fast food restaurants for obesity, but it really is not their fault. People choose where and what they do and do not eat; they do not have to eat fast food but they do anyway. Even if as the government takes action and takes away some of the more tasty, unhealthy foods and replace them with less tasty, healthier foods, people will eventually get used to it, They will adapt and it will just become normal, like a habit or everyday

if you want to stick to the obesity argument you might want to think of arguments such as 'should the government be doing more to tackle the problem or is it up to the individual?' or 'How is it people can allow themselves to get that far into bad health(obesity)?' (might be more of a Psychology question though..) A good one for looking at arguments relating to the fast food industry is 'Super-Size me' that documentary, that might give you some more ideas about arguments, to look into some of the issues that Morgan Spurlock touches on, (size of food portions, advertising, health related problems of obesity, etc..)

Although the food industry does not play a major role in the obesity epidemic in America, it does plays a key one because they produced the food that goes into your mouth. Most people don’t know what goes on in the pre-shipping face of the food that goes on the shelve of a grocery store. American manufacturers, pump their food full of sugar, salt, hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, preservatives, dyes, artificial flavors,

The food economy in America has gone through numerous and substantial changes during the past couple decades. The changes, although economically beneficial for America as a whole, are becoming a detriment to the health of our society. Perhaps the biggest innovation is the rise of fast food culture. The mass fast food monopoly is growing more and more every day, and with the aid of the government in forms of subsidies, the food culture of the United States is being run by big business. “Corporate enterprises” are “moving in to take advantage of” the American food market (Campbell). This shift in the food economy has come to be accepted as the norm, and so the average American consumer is being exposed to the dangers of fast food. Americans are finding it harder and harder to eat healthy. Fast food is causing diseases and deaths to skyrocket, and the happiness level of America is plummeting, all because of ignorance and the greed of big business.

As mentioned before people frequent the fast food locations and have joyous memories within it. (Supersize Me) The Franchise owners conveniently offer special packages to save money and invite the family to indulge in the food. The people take this offer instead of planning a healthy alternative use this as the easiest instead of doing the other option. The government lets this pass and do not attempt to change the culture that surrounded by fast food.American government actually promoted the consumption of it in schools by the option for students to buy the fast food products for lunch.(SuperSize Me) Even a guest speaker who went to the school to talk about obesity promoted the consumption at one of the fast food chains. The franchises connect with the people on a personal level with special promotions to bring new people to spend money. The government lenient and in favor of it in a system that include children with the available option to consume fast food on a daily basis. The people that buy into this and ignore the fact that overconsumption is the cause of obesity. “... content… eating… an industrial food chain...”.(Omnivore’s Dilemma) This cycle could end with the simple solution of the agreement between the contributors to this issue , yet the American society would rather find a cause and blame it for the entire result.

It’s no secret that obesity is a huge issue worldwide; over three hundred million people are clinically obese on the earth. No matter where you go there is bound to be an overweight population; over 30% of New Zealand’s population is obese. In fact, there is an average of above 14% of people that are obese in each country. Fatty and unhealthy foods that are harmful to the human body are served everywhere you go; you just can’t get away from them. Even though obesity can lead to many fatal diseases, it is not a disease by itself. It can harm the body and reduce normal body function, but it can be cured and someone can return to a healthy lifestyle if they have enough determination.

Wouldn’t it be reasonable to consider that people just might eat healthier if they simply had the money to do so? It would be interesting to consider that the people who usually have bad eating habits, are the ones who actually can’t afford to eat healthy. America has the highest obesity rate in the world, but who knows where we could be if the healthy food was more affordable and the junk food wasn’t reasonably cheap. Illnesses and diseases have become common too in people, many that come from just unhealthy eating that has taken a negative toll on the body. Not to mention, people living in low-income areas where in those areas, the main thing around them are fast food restaurants. The promotion of healthier eating and a healthier lifestyle, though, isn’t completely hidden from the public, though more ads about tasty junk food are on televisions, billboards, and so on, more than food that will benefit your body and general health. These things are all played into the fact that people already have a terrible diet, and the prices of foods that can make someone’s diet healthier are too high for most to even include them in their diet regularly. Healthier foods should cost less because it can help lower the high obesity rate in America, it will promote a healthier lifestyle to people to do things like exercise more, and it can help prevent life-threatening illnesses caused by unhealthy eating.

The issue that I chose to research about was obesity in children and why it is becoming more relevant and time continues. I chose a recent article from San Francisco Chronicle that explains a recent survey that was conducted and what their plan is to try to fix it. In this article, a national report was done comparing children and adult body mass indexes. “The 2016 National Survey of Children's Health found that 30 percent of Wisconsin children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, while the state's adult rate of obesity is 31 percent” (2017). Because of these results, health officials are very concerned and are trying to fix the problem. Because of this concern, health prfessionals are trying to teach parents to start to fix the problem from home.by having parents provide a better diet and exercise routine for their children.

    Two thirds of American adults are obese or overweight. Obesity is a silent killer that is taking over the United States slowly but surely. People do not typically realize how serious obesity is and it gets joked about, humiliating those who are affected. Obesity is not a joke, it is a disease that is killing everyone’s family, friends and neighbors. Obesity alone is detrimental to the health of an individual, it causes many adverse effects to the body that are often difficult to repair or cure.