In the United Sates approximately 10 percent adults were recorded to be obese during the 1950s. Helen McClintock noted that, “In 1980, 7 percent of children ages 6 to 11 were recorded to be obese.” In 2011 to 2012, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) reported almost 35 percent of U.S. adults were obese. The growth in obesity in American citizens has increased in the last six decades. There are many reasons for the increase in obesity in the U.S. One of the reason is the average restaurant meal is four times larger than it was in the 1950s. “Researchers found that children who watch more than three hours of television a day are 50 percent more likely to be obese than children who watch fewer than two hours”. The unhealthy food
Apart from healthcare issue, the country has adopted the fast-moving life style, which has pushed most of our citizens to succumb to obesity as a result of fast foods. In fact, a recent report by the UN has ranked the United States as the most obese country in the world. Parramore (2012) outlines that, “Obesity is currently being considered as a national crisis in the United States and that it contributes 100,000 to 400,000 deaths per year. Statistics at the CDC and Prevention in 2010 indicate that 35.7% of the American adult is obese.” Many input trends exist in the American society, “First and foremost, people are highly used to fried foods, sugary drinks, and processed meats among others. There is also the sedentary lifestyle that has been adopted by many,” (Huffington Post, 2013). In fact, most of us love relaxing without exercise and too much television watching. These are some of the factors that contribute to obesity. The result is health complications problems such as diabetes, stroke, and heart disease just to mention but a few. These affect the longevity of life.
“Obesity is a disease that affects more than one-third of the U.S adult population (approximately 78.6 million Americans). The number of Americans with obesity had steadily increase since 1960, a trend that has slowed down in recent years but show no sign of reversing”.
In America today one in three adults are considered to be obese. Over the years the rate of obesity keeps climbing up and up. Some people blame fast-food or the environment Americans live in. After all,someone can purchase a chocolate bar at a bookstore nowadays. But, most people are looking at the incorrect factor to blame. Although the food industry is a huge contribution to obesity in America, people are ultimately responsible for their own health.
68.8 percent of people in the United States and 30 percent of the entire global population are obese. “Obesity today is officially an epidemic; it is arguably the most pressing public health problem we face, costing the healthcare system an estimated $90 billion a year.” said Michael Pollan in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.”
With some many fast food and all you can eat restaurant United States has been the breeding ground for widespread obesity in America. Moreover, there are many more contributing factors to obesity both childhood and adult, such as biological, environmental, social, or economic factors.
Obesity in the United States has been a serious problem affecting Americans and has been continually growing higher in numbers each year. American obesity has nearly doubled within the last 40 years and is now considered to be an epidemic that is affecting millions of people around the nation. According to the National institute of Diabetes and digestive and kidney Diseases, 31% of men and 35% of women are considered seriously overweight, along with 15% of children between the ages of six and nineteen are also overweight. The lack of physical inactivity and extreme poor dieting are catching up to almost the same threat as cigarettes and tobacco smoking. We as a nation are considered to be the fattest country in the world.
In 2012 CDC statistics show that “over 35 percent of adults and 32 percent of children in the United States of America are recorded as obese (30kg/m2), the obesity rate has doubled since 1971.1” Not only is epidemic growing in numbers of victims but also in expenses. The United States spent 147 billion dollars in 2008 on medical expenses costs and that does not include the programs that fight against the problem. “In 2003 over 300,000 died due to obesity related health problems, diseases and cancers.6” One of the most important battles we wage on American soil is the war for citizens to be fit, and it nearly always starts in the childhood. Since 1971 the problem of childhood and adult obesity started to grow annually due to many reasons related to our ways of living. Now the food industry, including fast food has been getting more and more unhealthy due to unnatural modifications. What Americans eat is not organic anymore and is taking its toll on American lifestyle. The fast food industry has been making advertisements and foods focused upon youth. Since the original commercials directed towards children, it has nearly tripled since the rise of technology. Technology has been growing rapidly as obesity is, statistics show that with the advancement of technology, the population starts to slow down, stop exercising and eating healthier foods. As long as there is childhood obesity, there will be adult obesity, with effects on children causing obesity, there will be a
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
Obesity has been on the rise in America and is reaching all time heights. Obesity in America is at 27.7 percent and 1 in 5 children in America are obese currently and many will have to deal with it throughout their lifetime. With almost a third of our population struggling with this problem, the increasing obesity rates are becoming a major concern. Even though there isn’t a single answer to why obesity has become so prevalent, there are many contributing factors such as socio-economic status, the rise in technology, fast food, car culture, politics, socio-economic status, stress, and biology.
More than one third of adults in the US are obese, and 8.4% of children age 2-5, almost 18% of children aged 6-11 and 20.5% of kids aged 12-19 are considered obese (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2014). In 2008, obesity was estimated to cost the United States $147 billion dollars (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). The rates of obesity among Americans of all ages points to a lack of nutrition education and a lack of cultural and institutional support for healthy eating habits.
In the last decade, obesity has become an out of control epidemic. America has been ranked number one in a top ten list of the world 's most obese countries. Fast food restaurants are one of the main causes due to the unhealthy, addictive food it provides to its customers. Since fast food franchises have been expanding at such a rapid rate, it now makes it harder to live a healthy dietary lifestyle. Fast food has affected many societies in positive and negative ways. Its innovation prolonged these effects and may be worse to certain societies from a health and social standpoint. Due to the increase in popularity of the fast food norm, obesity percentages have risen, along with other health-related illness and overall activity in the daily
growth which shows that more and more people are eating unhealthy foods more often. An estimated 10% of America’s energy
“This might be the first generation where kids are dying at a younger age than their parents and it’s related primarily to the obesity problem” (Judy Davis). Obesity in America has been a rising issue in the last few years. There have been a lot of different predications on to why the number is rising so much in American people. The food that people are eating and the lack of physical activity has a lot to do with this big rise. People aren’t exercising as much as they use to and the food surrounding the people in America isn’t as good as it used to be either. More and more food places go up every day and it isn’t good for the people in society. Fast food industries are the leading cause of obesity in America today. Reasons are fast food
Obesity has had a significant impact on American. In the United States, the statistic shows more than 69% of adult are either obese or overweight. Even children have become heavier as well. Approximately 17% of American children in the age range between 2 to 11 has nearly three times the prevalence from one generation ago (X). People in this generation are not as active as their ancestor or parents. Many adults and children are obsessing with electronic devices that they would sit in the chair for hours. Physical inactivity and poor diet are a significant threat to health that may overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death (square). Obesity did not happen overnight; it happens over time. The body weight of our body is the result of the choices we make: food, environment, and exercise. When the energy we take in from food is not in balance with the energy we burn from exercise will result in increased weight. Obese people require extensive attention to their health and it can affect their daily basic life routines.
From 1960-62 to 2005-06 the number of obese Americans almost tripled from 13.4% to 35.1% (Weight-control Information Network 2). These two extreme upward trends might make a convincing case that the extra fast food intake has caused the hike in obesity rates, and it may very well be a good indication, but it is far from proof. Too many things have changed over the years, from the way the average American exercises, to the types of other food that people are consuming.