Essay on Curbing Obesity Rates

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

Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a

Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003)  In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical

Obesity and being overweight are problems in America that are continuing to exacerbate each and everyday.  According to Jan Simmonds, being a few pounds above an individual's ideal weight is considered overweight; while obesity is being more than twenty percent above an individual's ideal weight (3).  Ideal weight is a number based on one's height and body frame.  TeensHealth states, "Obese people are very overweight and at risk for serious health problems" (1).  Obesity is life threatening and there are many side effects associated with being obese.

Obesity does not discriminate against social status, sex, or race; it can take a person’s life and turn it upside down in the blink of an eye if they are not careful. Some people think of obesity as a worldwide killer because there is no outrunning it if it overtakes a person’s body. Every 1 in 3 adults are obese right here in America, that should give each and every individual some type of hint that there is a major problem occurring. The obesity epidemic is not something that has just caught the attention of people recently; it has been going on since the 1950’s! This epidemic is a major problem; over 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being obese or extremely overweight and over 40 million children were said to be obese in

Obesity rates are soaring throughout North America (What Is Obesity?, 2013). With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions in the United States, and the threat of a global epidemic, we must watch this alarming increase carefully ( Health Risks of Obesity, 2013). Obesity is defined as: "…an excess of adipose tissue…" (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014). The two most common measures of obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI is a ratio of weight to height) and relative weight index, such as percent desirable weight (Body Mass Index , 2013). BMI is the most frequently used measure of obesity as it has a strong correlation with more direct measures of adiposity, such as underwater weighing (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2013). Some

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.

In today's society, fast food has become a large part of many American's lives. With the rising numbers of obese people, it is hard not to draw a correlation between the increase in fast food and obesity. Most obese people don’t want to be obese and wish they could lose weight, yet they continue to struggle with their fast food intake and obesity. This is due to the advertising done on the consumers, the highly addictive food itself, and most importantly, how advertising and addiction combine with children to form habits that are kept once they become adults. These factors are the reasons that fast food restaurants are to blame for the rising obesity and health risks across America. The government needs to step in and place regulations on

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. The obesity epidemic on the rise and something must be done to solve this issue. About seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

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.

In this article, Chris Weller stated that fast food restaurants takes most of the blame for the rise of obesity in the U.S. He question himself by asking; Is it really their fault for the rise in obesity? In a recent research, it shows that most people believe that individuals are the one to blame for their own obesity, not the government or any fast food chains. Weller believes that if we create and enforce public policies to help reduce obesity and encourage healthier food choices would have little to no effective because that won’t change/stop people from consuming fast food.

Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.

Several studies have shown that the increase in fast food restaurants over the past few decades has resulted in a negative impact on the already outrageous obesity rate.According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number of fast food restaurants over the past thirty years has tripled, which equates to about three hundred thousand establishments in the United States alone. During this time the number of children, ages six to nineteen classified as obese, has risen from five percent to seventeen percent. The percentage of adults classified as obese has risen from half to two-thirds the population. Although fast food restaurants may be a contributing factor to the increasing obesity rate in the United States, people are

Obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping over the United States today. It’s affecting both adults and children. With the increase in fast food availability and a decrease in the time most Americans have to prepare nutritious meals at home, it’s obvious why more people are eating at fast food restaurants. Obesity is a growing problem in the United States and more and more children are being affected. But do uneducated families have the right to put the blame on fast food restaurants for the health issues they could easily prevent? I believe that we are taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity and that it is an individual’s

In 1921 the very first fast food restaurant (White Castle) born in the United States. Through almost one hundred years develop, right now America has at least 50,000 fast food restaurant. In order to satisfy the needs of more people, fast food restaurant and manufacturers managed to increase servings and portions while simultaneously decreasing the prices, and then the fast food become the one of the most popular food in America. Fast food is one of the most important industry that rise up the American economics. But the fast food is not a health choice for daily meal, fast food brings up a huge social problem - health issue. An Obesity epidemic has occurred in the United States, the Type-2 Diabetes rampant in young patients, and allowing Cardiovascular Disease to become common for many bystanders. From those change of America, America become the most overweight country and the number of overweight population still increasing year by year. As eating fast food is not a health choice, who should responsible for people get overweight as eating fast food or having some unhealthy eat habit, also how to educate people to reverse the ever growing obesity epidemic.