Changing Eating Habits In The United States

Being overweight, eating poorly, and not exercising are becoming an epidemic in America, especially among college students. Most of the research on it states the same things, however the first research article I found speaks more to the behavior and its current affects on college students’ health. A slew of doctors and Jesse S. Morrell wrote an article about “Risk Factors Among College Men and Women” in relationship to obesity. The opening of this article stated that “an estimated 300,000 deaths each year are attributable to obesity… and young adults have experienced dramatic increases in obesity rates,” (Morrell, 2012, pg. 82). This statistic is what really got the research going and helped the researchers focus specifically on college-aged individuals. Upon diving into their research, the authors found more alarming statistics and related diseases. This included a recognizable relationship between obesity in young people and chronic disease risk, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Morrell, 2012, pg. 82). In fact, CVD was the second leading cause of death in the US in that college-age group showing that our generation is at a greater risk for health problems than ever before due to our lack of exercise and healthy diets. Researchers then took to college campuses to examine students and their habits and provide risk assessments to promote healthier lifestyles and hopefully decrease the probability of CVD and DM through the metabolic syndrome system,

In It's Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat, Shannon Brownlee addresses the difference from when fast food was introduced to now. Before burger, small fries, and a 12oz drink was considered a filling meal and was considered treat because it was not something that happened often. Now it’s know as a kids meal. The medium, large, and super-size sizes were attempts from the fast food corporations to maximise on small minded Americans willing to believe anything that is said by advertisements. A nation of the gullible believing that bigger is better. The extreme intake of saturated fat, sodium, and high fructose corn syrup is leading even the health people of America down the rabbit hole full of health complications, that promise to shed years that could have been full of joyful memories for family and friends off one's life. Obesity is not just about being overweight and eating unhealthy. Obesity is accompanied by diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some cancer. Obesity can cut someones life expectancy by ten years. Even the nation's youth are not safe. Zinczenko also explains the gravity of rise in childhood obesity “Before 1994, Diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder -- only 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today, according to the National institute of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country.” The customary American diet is finally taking it’s toll on the

Why does America have an obesity problem? Do we blame it on ourselves, the government, or the supermarket? It is obviously and individual’s responsibility to keep one’s self healthy, but are there ways the government can strive for an overall healthier diet for Americans? Can we change the manipulative ways of Super Markets and persuade them to look past profit? The American government should put in effort to provide a better dietary path for American citizens by working on motivating individuals to make better choices in their diet, pushing Super markets and industries to work together to lower prices of healthier foods, and placing policies and banning unhealthy ingredients in junk foods. It may not be the governments fault, but obesity is such a big issue in American culture that we need to make some major changes and the government is the only one who can make that happen.

Obesity is becoming a serious medical issue and if we as a nation don’t gain control over it, we are going to be dealing with major problems in the future. (Obesity In Children And Teens)

Obesity is becoming one of the biggest problems in the country, but there has to be reasons for it. It can be the economy, society now, or people and companies. It’s time that our country starts to realize that we can’t live like this anymore. We need to see what is causing the sudden rise in obesity, and what we can do to fix it. Education of risks and solutions can be very helpful. Obesity is killing so many people, yet is still 100 percent avoidable. Our country is beginning to care less and really let themselves go. The fast food industry, supermarkets, and schools are the ones at fault for the spreading problem of obesity.

In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that today’s fast food industry is to blame for obesity. Zinczenko says that when he was a child lunch and diner for him was a choice between “McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky, Fried Chicken, or Pizza Hut,” those are largely the only options for kids today. Lawsuits are being held against these big companies. Even though fast food restaurants are cheap and affordable, it’s very hard to find a healthy food that is cheap as fast food. On the other hand, it’s a person’s choice on whether choosing to eat at a fast food restaurant or buying himself a salad at the supermarket. Instead of getting a burger for three dollars, why not go to the grocery and get whole wheat bread, ham, and

The United States is mindful of this deadly disease and the lives it has taken, yet little has been done to spread awareness and decrease the amount of sugar, carbohydrates, and fat in foods sold. In fact, America encourages unhealthy eating by displaying advertisements which convince the audience that the food will not have a negative effect on their health. A majority of these advertisements are directed towards children due to the fact that they are easy to convince. And this is a huge reason behind the increasing obesity rate in the United States because the decisions made as a child reflect those made in adulthood. If a child is constantly eating unhealthy food, rarely exercises, and is unaware of the consequences that come from the lack of living a healthy life, he or she will grow up continuing this lifestyle. O’Connor explains that, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, seventeen percent of American children and teenagers between the ages twelve and nineteen years old are overweight (39). Unless the child is taught about the harsh reality of eating so unhealthy, it may be too late before he or she becomes obese. Similar to tobacco and alcohol, food has addictive qualities which are hard to change. Another factor to consider involving the obesity epidemic in the United States is the expense of healthy foods. This high price hinders U.S. citizen’s ability to pay for a healthy diet. One of the many low income mothers in the United States, Maria Gonzalez, comments, “When you only have a dollar to spend and you have two kids to feed, either you go to the market and try to find something that’s cheap or just go straight through a drive thru and get two hamburgers for them and say, ‘Okay, here. Eat this.’ This is what’s going to fill her up, not that one single item at the market”

David Zinczenko made the lack of choices the centerpiece of his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater.” Zinczenko posits that fast food restaurants, then as now, “were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal”. Really? Maybe if we lived in a world full of only gas stations and fast food vendors. However we have Wal-Mart, Kroger, Harris Teeter, and a myriad of other supermarkets, all of which are literally full of healthy cheap food. Zinczenko uses a snarky analogy comparing the difficulty of acquiring a grapefruit versus finding a Big Mac on “any thoroughfare in America”. Zinczenko says that teenagers in particular, are having difficulty finding alternatives to fast food. Not to sound like beating drum, but where are the parents of these teenagers, why are they not supplying these kids with cheap healthy food? Why are they out purchasing expensive un-healthy food instead of eating healthy meals at home? Where are the parents, and where is their

Obesity has increased a lot over the years and health problems have not gotten any better. “... [T]he average person has increased 24 pounds since 1960” (Stewart ). The government has a reason to be concerned and worries about our obesity rates raising. Society likes to include themselves in every problem America has, and since obesity is a growing problem in America it is understandable why society wants others to be healthy. Even though it is understandable why the government wants to be involved, society and the government is too involved in the growing issue of obesity. The government cannot have a say in how someone wants to live their life. “A New Jersey woman, who now tips the scale at 604 pounds, said it’s be a “fantasy” to gobble her way to fame and someday weight 1,000 pounds” (Li). The government cannot control how people want to live their lives whether it be healthy or

In the United States the society needs to work on controlling this problem known as obesity. It is a problem that if does not get controlled sooner than later, will spiral out of hand even more. Before this spirals out of control society needs to take action to reducing the cost of healthy food amongst middle-low class citizens so they can eat the

Obesity in America is a growing problem. There are too many fast food restaurants and many Americans aren’t physically active. Food advertising is targeting children for high calorie, high fat snacks and sugary drinks. Americans are exposed to oversized food portions in restaurants, fast food places, gas stations, movie theaters, super markets, and etc. Some Americans even have a lack of access to healthy foods. If the government had a say in our diets, problems like these would be prevented.

Obesity is a very serious subject that a lot of people take lightly, especially us as Americans. America is the most obese country in the world. Statistics show that 300,000 people die a day in the United States of America due to obesity. This clearly shows that we have a serious problem that is massively underestimated. Obesity is also something that countries all across the world suffer from. For example, Australia is also one of the most obese countries in the world, and 50,000 people die a year from obesity in Australia. That’s 140 people who die per day in Australia. To solve the problem of obesity the prices of junk food should be raised and the prices of healthy food should be lowered and more convenient.

“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).

College life is a time full of fun, friends, activities, classes, and homework. All of these activities however, add up to a busy life style. Being busy is not in itself harmful but when the busyness becomes so great that it turns into stress, problems start to arise. The formation of stress leads to many unhealthy trends, such as lack of sleep, loss of immunity to disease, and a change in personality traits. How then can stress in the busy lives of college students be reduced? The answer is a simple one that has long been known; exercise relieves stress. Colleges across the country need to implement a program of required exercise classes to promote the well being of students.

There are many personal self-care activities that are extremely important to our health. As a college student I chose an activity that I believe is one of the most important as well the most difficult for college students to do, exercising. I believe physical activity to be one of the most important personal self-care-activity a person can do to help improve their overall health. As a college student I have experienced what most college students or soon to be college students dread the most; “the freshman 15” which could easily be avoided with simply some exercise. Although many things lead to the freshman 15 such as irregular eating habits, stress, and lack of sleep I am going to discuss just how important exercise is as well as how it could help improve your overall health.