Persuasive Essay On Obesity

As years go by American weight struggle has been getting worse. People with diabetes today has more than double since 1994. While there are ways to help bring down obesity, most companies have not taken action. There are many factors to why obesity has only been increasing all these years.

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”

Back then, the 20th century was seen as the eradication of many infectious diseases and the development of vaccines, this century has started with an epidemic of diabetes and obesity. Roslin continues by claiming that in some way, Americans are ineffective or unsuccessful to resolve the disease of obesity, and it is affecting many Americans. Most of the people’s troubles are due to their appalling habits: people do not consider what is healthy and natural for them, and before they eat, they do not concern to read the labels of what they eat or drink. Such people pass these habits to their family and most specifically to their kids. It has been predictable that children obesity is becoming an increasing subject in the United States. While that might sound less threatening to people, it is, in fact, not, says Roslin. He asserts that despite the United States’ huge investment in healthcare, life expectancy is expected to decline due to obesity. Roslin ends this paragraph by stating that the obesity epidemic is increasing at such a fast pace that, if the current trend continues, the entire America will be obese by 2050.

If you can prolong your life, and make yourself feel better about who you are then why not overcome this overweight issue. In today’s world we are facing an epidemic that seems to be affecting even are young at an early age. We all know that obesity can have adverse effects on health, well-being, and relationship, and can be solved by eating organic food, exercising, and discipline. We are here to find out the different causes of obesity, and find out what we can do to overcome this fast growing epidemic. “Although people in the Unites States might not be eating more, they are gaining weight. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, fat consumption by people in the United States has declined during past decades, but calorie expenditure has gone down as well. Adults are not burning the calories they are consuming, and as a result, obesity rates increased by 214 percent between 1950 and 2000. Two out of every three people in the U.S. were obese or overweight in 2010”. (Bird, 2011, March 26, p.1). They are several solutions that can be implemented to these causes, and some are individual, community, and government solutions. I feel it is everyone’s own responsibility to make they maintain their own health.

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.

Over one third of the US population suffers from obesity and overweight. According to a study reported by the NIH (National Institute of Health), more than 1 in 3 adults were considered to be overweight, and 1 in 3 adults were considered to be obese. Children are also victims to this growing epidemic, with 1 in 6 children/adolescents anywhere from 2 to 19 were considered to be obese. This is a growing problem, and it has been for the last 20 years in America.

More than 2.1 billion people are overweight in our nation. This is a shocking statistic because more and more people are becoming overweight each year. It is important to recognize this is an epidemic in our nation. It is bad for our health and something needs to be done to stop this problem. Recent articles are talking about why people are becoming overweight or obese. The three culprits to blame people becoming overweight are the consumer, government, and the Food Industry.

Justin Timberlake, one of the most popular recording artists today, filmed a commercial for McDonald's. A spokeswoman for McDonald's said "the campaign is getting "buzz on the street." The song he sings in the commercial was also to be released as a full length single (MacArthur, 2003, p. 2).

In 2014 the World Health Organization estimated that about 41 million children of toddler age were obese (Obesity and Overweight para.1), in other words they have about 5 years living on Earth and already are dying. Obesity and who’s really responsible for the cause of it has been a back and forth argument between customers, fast food companies, and government health agencies. For years many have tried to blame and even sue Mcdonalds, Burger King, and many other fast food companies, claiming that it is their fault for their overweight health condition, but I believe this is the opposite. The reality to this issue is that the physical company does not play a role in this issue since they do not force their food into our mouths, but their food does play a role in obesity. Each individual in our society is responsible for their own health and needs, therefore, there is no need to blame companies when we realize that our decisions have caught up to us. These companies are trying their best to provide alternatives, but if we do not take them than they are not to blame for our future death. Having medical researchers label obesity as a health disease is not helping the situation anymore, than people not taking responsibility, because now it allows them to obtain an excuse for their choices.

Body image and obesity are always going to be hot-button issues as long as fast foods restaurants are still in business. Obesity is a disorder involving excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems. In other words, obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health. Proportions of food are different from decades ago compared to now. Movie popcorn serving size was five cups with calories of 270 back in the 1980’s, now movie theatres are serving big tubs with loads of butter with calories of 630. Today proportions of food have really expanded causing calorie consumption to go up. To reduce obesity people should focus on educating the youth, promoting healthy eating and doing exercise at least an hour a day. Easily adding vegetables to what we eat, substituting that In-n-Out burger for something way less caloric.

The state of inevolvement was undergoing too quickly and needed to be fixed while actions were not normalized just yet. In the 1990’s people began to recognize the problem of unhealthy eating habits. The average American was not aware of the ingredients nor the additives in the foods being consumed much less how these foods were made. The government took action, began to speak up to increase awareness. From what started as just listing the most

America’s obesity problem may not seem like it’s not a big deal to the blind eye, but it’s without a doubt an issue that needs more attention. This epidemic has gotten well out of control, the number of cases has significantly risen, and it’s not going down anytime soon by the looks of our nation's eating habits. Most people would stop and grab a burger, rather than a salad, when knowing the salad is the healthier choice but it’s also more expensive than a burger. Therefore, making the customer opt to buy the burger because it’s a cheaper choice, they’re buying it at the expense of their health, even though consumers are responsible for what they decide to put in their mouths, it’s not entirely their fault, fast food industries and the government also plays a part in the obesity increase. Americans have been lacking the intelligence on how unhealthy the food they ingest really is. Most families in the past had three healthy home cooked meals a day, as to now it is convenient and easier to stop at a fast food restaurant. The public is blaming the consumer, parents, and also blaming the industries. So who is at fault? To prevent the number of people with obesity and other related diseases from increasing people ages 18-26 years old need to take personal responsibility and inspire the fast food industry to provide a healthier nutritional on how to take care of the body.

America has directly felt the aftershock of having the overwhelming amount of fast food restaurants and bad diets as the millennial’s are dying from obesity or related diseases. A well known disease is called obesity, an excessive accumulation and storage of fat, which is linked to health problems. Obesity as well for additional corresponding diseases have recently increased over the years. The misconceptions of diagnosing Obesity by just appearance is no longer the case in this society. Food industries have shown food nutrition, however are still discreet about how much or what is within the meal creating an person to intake more than the recommended calories. The government is not enforcing law, regulations allowing these food industries to manipulate consumers. The availability of education can allow consumers to become more aware of this issue. The individual responsibility is needed to produce a healthier lifestyle by knowing the risks,and understanding the issue that taking place. This problem is due to lack of individual responsibility, little government involvement, and no education, now it is up to young adolescents to save their generation before it’s endangered due to obesity.

Obesity takes the lives of 300,000 people each year and each person was someone's child, someone’s mother, someone’s loved one, or someone’s friend. Today 66% of Americans are considered obese while only 2% of Americans were considered obese in the 1970s. In the 70s, Americans were not worried about being obese and getting obesity related diseases because there were fewer divorced families, fewer working moms, and fewer fast food restaurants. The increase in the number of divorced families, working mothers, and expansion of fast food restaurants has contributed to our current obesity epidemic. Obesity occurs when human beings become extremely overweight by consuming an enormous amount of calories with a limited amount of activity. Americans who are between the ages of 18 to 26 years old, will play a huge factor in America's future health due to the importance of the millennial’s role in America's society. Fast food companies, as well as the government, should be held accountable, but individuals also need to take responsibility for making healthier choices. To end the obesity epidemic and obesity related diseases in America, the government needs to become more involved in regulating farmers and businesses on product pricing and food selections, as well as educating people, specifically millennials, about food choices and taking personal responsibility for the future health of America.

Have you ever seen someone on Instagram or Facebook that posts all about being “healthy and fit”? It’s annoying sometimes, I get it. But what if they are actually right? We tend to make excuses as to why we don’t have time to work out or why we can’t make better food choices for ourselves. The answer is simple. We want easy. Sitting on the couch is easy. Going through McDonalds or Wendy’s is easy. What if making these “easy” choices are actually harming us in the long run? According to the CDC, “more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults” and 17% of children and adolescents have obesity (CDC, 2017). Those are alarming and eye-opening statistics. We as Americans need to realize that obesity is a problem and in order for this issue to change, we need more education about healthy habits. A few years ago, I came to the realization that I was not happy with the way I felt physically and mentally. I ate a lot food that was not good for me and at the time I didn’t realize how much it was affecting me. Now someone looking at me from the outside probably would have never said I was “fat” but I was far from healthy. I didn’t want to keep feeling the way I felt about myself so I began doing some research on ways to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. I figured out that there are some important basic steps to starting a healthy lifestyle that anyone can do if they have just a little bit of motivation.