The Fat Pay All Summary

Shifts in the “Food Marketplace” have greatly affected our food choices and habits in the last 40-50 years. As one woman stated in the film The Weight of the Nation, “It’s so hard to combat with what the tv is telling you to feed your kids”. Advertising has come to a whole new level in our generation; you can’t turn on the television without seeing an advertisement for fast food or something equally as unhealthy. As another woman put it, “you are taught that you can eat anywhere, anytime of day, and that eating is a glorious thing”. Another shift that has occurred is an economic one. If you go into a poor neighborhood corner store like they did in the film, you would see chips, sugar, sweets, etc. All of these unhealthy foods are cheap, incredibly cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. Obesity rates in these poor areas are much higher than in areas with a higher average income. Culturally, our country is changing to one that is always moving; we don’t have time to prepare a meal for the whole family. It’s much quicker to buy unhealthy fast food that you know your family will enjoy than to prepare a healthy meal that they will grudgingly consume. The film mentioned that our bodies were originally built for scarcity. We are wired to react to things that are sweet and contain a lot of fat because when an animal was killed we had to be able to eat as much of it as possible. The signals telling us to stop eating had to be overridden. Now, we consume so much fat and sugar not

Obesity has both direct and indirect effects. Direct effects we will explore are lost time due to increased use of sick days and restrictive work duties. A few of the indirect costs are the cost of medication for diseases directly related to obesity, such as but not limited to, Diabetes, High

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 in America is a continually growing problem and even worse our own children are sharing in this problem. A commentary in the Washington Times reports that sixty million Americans are obese. What really is the meaning of obese? Obese is having a body mass index of thirty percent or more. In recent years, the percentage of obese Americans has risen. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of obese Americans rose from 22.9 in 1984-1994 to 32.2 in 2003 and 2004. The study also says if you throw in the number of "over weight" Americans (body mass index of 25 to 29.9) the total jumps to 66.3

However, there are several other costs inflicted on society by poor dietary practices by its citizens. One example is the impacts that are placed on the health system. Obesity can lead to a wide range of different medical conditions which make obese people more frequent visitors to a health care facility. This acts to drive up medical costs for everyone not just the obese themselves. Furthermore, there are also issues for the labor pool. Obesity can prevent people from meeting their productivity potentials as well as make them miss more time at work due to obesity related illnesses.

In Lisa Miller’s essay “Divided We eat,” she describes her usual morning breakfast that consists of fancy foods and claims that she is a food snob. She then goes into detail about what her neighbor's routine is like, and what Alexandra Ferguson’s morning routine is like. Food is typically a big issue for these families and the parents will usually spend hours thinking about how they will feed their families. Miller and Ferguson later discuss that some children don’t get enough eat, and some of these children are within five miles of them. Miller then tells us that seventeen percent of Americans are food insecure. The income gap has increased and now more Americans are becoming obese because of this.

When it comes to the topic of obesity, most will readily agree that it is a growing dilemma. This argument has many writers bringing different responses. Two explanations are debated in What You Eat is Your Business by Radley Balko and Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko. Both pieces create a good stance on the topic of obesity. Balko’s piece, however, has a better all around flow, organization and consistency.

“The Cato Institute’s” Policy analyst, Radley Balko, in his article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” talks about the idea of obesity and whose fault it is. Balko’s purpose is to convey the idea that obesity is the individual’s responsibility, not the government’s or anyone else’s for that matter. Ultimately, Balko’s “What You Eat Is Your Business” has a strong hold on ethos, pathos, and logos, making for a successful and persuasive article.

It is said that obesity can be caused by not knowing how to combat and prevent this common disease before it begins in poverty stricken areas. Additionally the availability of nutritious food choices and the means to have safe active life style are not available to those who suffer from poverty due to financial and educational disadvantages. Obesity is not just a class problem, but financially disadvantaged people that lack access to quality food will inevitably turn to high calorie processed foods that will stretch their food dollar.

The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for

In the American culture, obesity is seen as a bodily abnormality and deviance that should be corrected. Obesity has indeed become one of the most stigmatizing bodily characteristics in our culture (Brink, 1994). In the Western culture, thinness does not just mean the size of the

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 has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food 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 factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

This essay discusses how social constructions have an effect on obesity and what combination of causes and contributing factors it includes can lead to obesity. `Obesity is the term used to describe someone who is overweight and unhealthy. Obesity shortens life by an average of 10 years. It is very common in the UK and results from a study back in 2014 showed that a whopping 65.3% of men and 58.1% of women are obese here. (UniversityOfBirmingham,2016) Being over weight is generally associated with being lazy and unpleasant. There are a lot of media groups that have influenced our society’s perception on obesity and many factors that lead to the disease. Obesity can be life threatening and can be the start of lethal conditions such as diabetes,

Louise Townend in her research concerning the moralizing of obesity addresses the issue across a wide spectrum of categories such as economic, health and social policy. She enumerates the different social contexts of the obesity debate and begins by stating that obesity is no longer a trouble but an epidemic which is now a “significant issue for health and social policy, with major ramifications for general economic productivity across the globe”. (Townend) 2009: 3. She points out obesity is often associated with stigma such as laziness, dirtiness, illness and poverty (Townend, 2009). This connects the problem of obesity with the history of poverty and creates the question of why is laziness connected to obesity? And why does that consequently turn into poverty.