preview

Obesity : A Serious Social Problem Essay

Good Essays
Obesity has recently become a serious social problem in Mexico. According to the researches, the obesity rate has tripled in Mexico in the past 30 years. Mexico 's obesity rate was less than 25% in 2000, and increased to 30% in 2012. In 2012, 69.5% of the Mexican population is overweight or obese (Kurtzleben, 2012). Barquera’s scientific researches found out that “obesity has a strong negative effect on the incidence of type-2 diabetes and adult mortality - losses of 2 to 3 years of life expectancy at age 50”. The health problems cause by obesity will reduce Mexico’s productivity and harm the economic growth in a very negative way. Thus, finding out the main causes of obesity and thinking of ways to eliminate obesity is crucial. Through exploration of popular press, websites, and academic journals, the main causes of the high obesity rate in Mexico were raveled. Popular press was a very good source for achieving useful information and critical opinions on current issues related to the obesity in Mexico, observing the main causes of the high obesity rate in Mexico in the 21st century. Many articles emphasis that the import of fast food and soda drinks from U.S. are the main causes of the high obesity rate in Mexico. According to Kurtzleben (2012), the U.S. fast food exportation to Mexico leads to the growth in Mexico 's obesity rate. Starting from 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows the U.S. to export massive quantities of cheap calories to Mexico,
Get Access