Obesity Epidemic Analysis

According to Wall Street Journal, “More than 33% of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year were obese, compared with 24.6% of those who earn at least $50,000 per year.” (Izzo 2011) Processed foods such as cheeseburger or French fries tend to be cheaper than buying healthier ingredients and making home cooked food. When people have lower incomes, they do suffer from food insecurity, which is an important connection between poverty and obesity. Two reasons can contribute to obesity: parents are working and are no longer at home with their children and therefore not able to cook balanced meals; and foods with high fat are cheaper than healthy foods.

Many doctors and health experts have released articles and reports stating sugar and carbohydrates are the driving mechanism behind the current Australian obesity epidemic and are also responsible for the cause of diabetes (Prisk, 2015). However, sugar cannot take the whole blame for the cause obesity as Tim Gill stated in the 2014 Courier Mail magazine ‘Body and Soul’ because there are other contributing factors to the epidemic of obesity including an imbalance between energy consumptions of high calorie foods such as sugars, fat and proteins and the lack of physical activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Finally, genetic and environmental factors also play a major

Knowing the causes to obesity are important. Some causes of obesity are thought of off the bat. But some causes aren’t all that well known. Researchers have found many causes to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. Two main causes to obesity are added sugars/processed foods and genetics, specifically with one’s parents and grandparents. The last cause of obesity is the American government. Many citizens of the U.S think that all sugar is bad. This statement is not true. As stated in http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/1/13/14219606/sugar-intake-dietary-nutrition-science “ Sugar is in so many of the foods we eat. It’s loaded into our granola and our juice, our BBQ sauce and salad dressing. Some ¾ of packaged foods and drinks in the US now carry caloric or low-calorie sweeteners.” In a healthy diet an American should consume roughly 6-9 teaspoons of added sugars. However the average in America is currently 41 teaspoons! Statistics have found that in the 13th century one pound of sugar would have costed roughly 360 eggs. Nowadays one pound of sugar would cost the same as only two eggs… this is a serious problem. The 1980’s was the national start of making and selling “low fat” products such as milk. In all reality this was also when the lowered the fat levels and raised the sugar levels sky high. As a result of extreme amounts of sugar in products it has given scientists evidence to prove that sugar is 8x more addictive than cocaine. Another cause of obesity is

The topic of obesity is a current American issue that is in the midst of being solved. Obesity, the condition of being overweight, was named a disease in 2013. Obesity has rapidly emerged as an American problem and poses as a serious health challenge. The cause of obesity has a lot to deal with America’s social dynamics. Today, advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two ideas are greatly connected with the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Seventeen percent of American adolescents were considered obese from 2011 to 2014. This is double the amount of obese

Fed up is a documentary that investigates the recent obesity epidemic; the obesity epidemic is considered “recent” because there has been a steady rise in obese and overweight Americans since the 1980s. This film formulates its analysis of United States’ obesity epidemic by denouncing US politics and the food industry for their immensely adverse influence on America’s overall health. Moreover, there was also an emphasis on the science of obesity and childhood obesity.

As our society advances and adapts, we continue to come across many social issues. We have just recently abolished slavery, but the after effects of racism still exist, making life difficult for those of color or immigrants in specific areas of the country. Racism is just a small part of the adapting "American Culture", there are many other sociological issues, like that of the obesity epidemic. In Chapter 2 of Gendered Media: Women, Men, and Identity Politics, Ross asks the following question in regards to the obesity epidemic, "But who (or indeed what) is really responsible for the increasing of obesity of our citizens and therefore slimming down our expanding waistlines? The individual or the state?" The blame is constantly shifting between

The nation has developed a cheap food model. The kind of food Americans eat is the kind that is most profitable, commercial. This source of nutrition has caused over eighteen percent of children in the nation to become obese or overweight. If the obesity epidemic is not taken seriously the nation will have to pay the price. Not only adults but future generations are at a higher risk of developing severe heart conditions earlier than past generations. If improvements are not made, our children will die younger than us.

There is a new epidemic running through the U.S. This epidemic is childhood obesity. In the last ten-twenty years, more and more children have become obese/overweight. A study done by the CDC states, “The percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.” With all epidemics, there is a rush for a quick fix. The quick fix for this epidemic is liposuction, but after a couple months they regain the weight. They then tried dieting, some patients try to diet but keep going back to eating unhealthy and keep the weight on. There is one more thing they can

Obesity, according to the World Health Organisation, is defined as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health’ (World Health Organisation, 2014). The Conversation article presented by Sacks and Cameron states that close to two-thirds of Australians are overweight and that unhealthy diets contribute to more disease and illness in Australia than smoking (Sacks and Cameron 2014). It then points out that obesity the tripling of obesity in Australia is not merely due to a lack of personal responsibility but with all the changes occurring in the food environment and the increasing supply of cheap, energy-filled

The Walt Disney production “Wall-E” is a portrayed image of what our world could soon become. If you aren’t familiar with what the film is about, it is about obese humans relying on technology to do everything and anything for them. They weren’t concerned with their health at all, ordering jumbo soda and super-sized meals of fast food, for every meal. As Wall-E broads the ship and knocks some humans out of their delusional life style, they begin to realize something is seriously wrong with their health. Maybe it was because they couldn’t walk or maybe it was the realization that they couldn’t do anything for themselves. To make sure this doesn’t happen to the people of our world today, there is

Imagine being at a friend’s funeral, where the parents had to lamentably bury their young child, all due to poor food and health that has dispersed throughout America. Although America is one of the most prosperous countries in the world, it is also the unhealthiest country. The world’s view of American society consists of people having a Big Mac in one hand and holding a remote control in the other. Obesity has begun to be a growing epidemic that has been in debate. The definition of obesity is the condition in which an individual has an abundant amount of grossly fat and being extremely overweight. Obesity has since been officially recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association an action that could put more emphasis on the health

The American obesity epidemic is an issue that has become increasingly prevelant over the years. While this is a very large and complex issue, it can be primarily pin-pointed to a few key factors, such as poverty, lifestyle, and the types and availability of food these days.

Introduction According to statistical data, Australia is currently more obese than America. Obesity in Australia over the past few years has been described as an ‘epidemic’ which is ‘frequently expanding’ (Ryan, 2009). Professor Jimmy Bell from the Imperial College in London who is an obesity specialist says that "Genetically, human beings haven't changed, but our environment and our access to cheap food has. We’re being bombarded every day by the food industry to consume more and more food and we are slowly losing the war against obesity.”

There’s an appalling epidemic in today’s society sweeping across not only the United States, but all across the globe. This horrible epidemic isn’t the bird flu, or any type of sickness, rather obesity. Today, obesity rates are at an all time high in America. This disease, obesity, is being passed down the family both genetically, and by the terrible eating habits developing in the US. Kids growing up in this generation are facing frightening issues such as increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., the list goes on. Zinczenko proves this in his text Don’t Blame the Eater, when he says, “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder - Only about 5 percent of childhood causes 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.” (Zinczenko 463) The sad part about it, is these kids more time than not, are born into these types of situations. There’s no surprise that obesity rates in America are directly correlated with the increasing amount of fast food chains popping up on every street corner. These fast food restaurants are masters of the art of advertising, and are using it as the strongest way of increasing sales. This is very dangerous because not all advertisements are true, despite what the common American might think, and it can be used to sway people’s thoughts

United States(US) is most obese country in North America and has not taken effective measures to significantly dwindle down the obese or overweight population. Obesity is a condition where a person has built up body fat from food to the point where their weight can have negative effects on their health. Being overweight means a person weighs more than what is considered normal for the age, height and gender while being obese is a person having a Body Mass Index of over 30 pounds. If untreated the accumulated body fat can cause type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, for this reason the United States must take effective action to tackle down the obese population. A common myth is that people become obese because they chose to eat junk food and refuse to eat little to no healthy food with no self-control of their eating habits. The real truth is fast food companies sell unhealthy foods cheaper than healthy foods resulting in low income families and people on a tight budget to chose the cheaper food deal. The cheaper food deals combined with the rise of technology to make transportation easier than the 20th century and walking seem like a chore. The unfortunate phenomenon has made it the duty of the 18 to 25 year old, which from here on will be referred to as young adults, to set healthy examples for future generations while demanding that fast food businesses make healthy foods just as affordable as unhealthy food.