The Obesity Crisis

The marketing revolves around habits. If we form the habits of just relying on them for food we will not go back thus more profit for them. It makes me think of an evil villain who’s bent on destroying the human race or at least making us all fat and lazy because that’s what’s happening. We’re becoming lazy which means our children will be lazy and the ability to cook will vanish and it will all go downhill from there. In Pollen’s article, he asked Harry Balzer what we can one do to fix this problem and he said “Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself” (584).

Corn is not the ideal nutritious food. It wreaks havoc on the animal;s' digestive system and gets turned into sweeteners that makes people obese, aside from giving us an unhealthy diet. In other words, the industrial food chain that American man is sustained on is largely based on corn, whether in its direct form, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose, and the cheapest forms of these are high-fructose corn syrup and ethanol. The former, particularly, through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors, appears in the cheapest and most common of foods that constitute the American diet. It is the ingredient that results in obesity, and, since it appears in the cheapest products, the ingredients that more poor, than wealthier individuals, consume.

In the United States, a crisis is breaking out known as the Obesity epidemic. For the first time in history, it is possible for the children of this generation to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. Millions of Americans are exposed to ads that are luring them into eating the cheap, fast food of billion dollar companies such as McDonald’s. Obesity has established itself as the fastest growing disease in the nation and continues to make an impact on the general population. The issue of Obesity is directly related to todays technology through television, cell phones, video games and all of sorts of new gadgets.

The United States of America is known for having a high obesity level. According to David Frum from CNN, except for Mexicans, American citizens are more likely to become obese than any other nationality. Some obese countries have enforced an extra high tax on fast foods and other high calorie foods, and many people believe that the U.S. should adopt the fat tax as well. According to Dictionary.com, the fat tax is “a tax imposed on or proposed for high-fat or otherwise unhealthy foodstuffs”. Although a tax on junk food could reduce obesity, the low prices could protect low income families from going broke, and therefore a tax on junk food would not be beneficial to America.

In the United States, there are several problems occurring, but people would rather go on with their lives as if everything is fine .Being unaware of distressing circumstances is less arduous than being aware. But being aware allows one to adjust,because if people are knowledgeable than they are able to prevent or control the situation.

The multitude of articles presented are each unique in their own way, highlighting some discussion of situations from different companies and brands to include General Mills, Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Dr. Pepper, Oscar Meyer, Kraft and Frito Lay. Although each situation is unique, there are overriding questionable ethical issues. There are a number of ethical issues presented in the articles, but a few shared major issues which will be discussed.

When you think of smoking a cigarette or any other Tabaco product what is the first thing that comes to mind? In all likely hood you are probably thinking about gunk, coughing, wheezy lungs, or even death. If I were to ask you that same question about having sex without a condom, what would come to mind? HIV, STD’s, nasty thoughts, and so on and so forth. Now what if I asked you about a milkshake? You’re probably thinking scrumptious, tasty, and very satisfying. The reality is consuming items in the same category as milkshakes (fried foods, fatty foods, high preservative concertations) in high volumes overtime can cause high blood pressure, hypertension, and even heat disease which is the number one killer of all human beings. There are numerous reasons why America is having an obesity crisis, in fact by the year 2030 it is expected that nearly 51% of all adults will not only be overweight but actually considered obese. This is not just an issue in the United States, but throughout the world obesity numbers are skyrocketing up the charts. The top 5 reasons for obesity rates are genetics/cultural practices, aggressive food based marketing, in adequate physical activity, age, and lack of easy access to healthy foods. Weight gain in America and throughout the world is at an all-time high, but before we can stop the issue we must first understand why it is happening.

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

After watching the Food Inc. documentary I now look at our nation’s food industry differently. As a consumer I feel that there are many things being hidden from us. Nowadays the top four companies for meat control about eighty percent of the market. There’s only about three or four companies controlling everything and they are more powerful than ever. A majority of these companies are putting profit over consumer’s health. They are not considerate about the health and safety of the food produced or about the animals being raised. We have bigger and better food now but we have also have obesity, and diabetes problems and many other health related deficiencies that use to not be as big of an issue back then.

Obesity rates are soaring throughout North America (What Is Obesity?, 2013). With obesity reaching almost epidemic proportions in the United States, and the threat of a global epidemic, we must watch this alarming increase carefully ( Health Risks of Obesity, 2013). Obesity is defined as: "…an excess of adipose tissue…" (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014). The two most common measures of obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI is a ratio of weight to height) and relative weight index, such as percent desirable weight (Body Mass Index , 2013). BMI is the most frequently used measure of obesity as it has a strong correlation with more direct measures of adiposity, such as underwater weighing (A Report of the Surgeon General, 2013). Some

The world population is increasing at an exponential rate. Along with it is an increase of mouths to feed and more food to be created to feed them. Many options come about when feeding the population, organic food, regular healthy food, fast food, fattening food etc. Many times, parents and American society as whole choose to go the unhealthier, cheaper and tastier route when

The Obesity Epidemic is a topic widely studied and mentioned in several contexts’ both medical and social. Obesity is described by Boero (2012) to have exploded in meaning Post- World War II to be more than a “physical flaw.” Weight concern became an idea that debuted in magazines mainly targeting women and emphasizing “natural thinness.” The disappearance of the normally worn “corset” and popularization of the typical 1920’s “boy catching” flapper, increased the production of diet products and the ideology of “desirable thinness” which gave birth to a social and moral model of obesity as a disease (Boero 2012). Throughout her book, Boero (2012) examines the ways in which the view of obesity has transformed into a medicalized epidemic, rather than a simple “flaw in human biology” in addition to the implications that come along with the “epidemic” title it has been given. Although there is a relationship between poor health and fatness, the Obesity epidemic would fail to exist in the absence of societies constant fat shaming, medicalization of fatness and an emphasis on individual blame. The Mayo Clinic’s “My Weight Solution” pamphlet and “The HAES Manifesto” each approach health and weight from a different angle. The Mayo Clinic’s pamphlet takes the Anti-Obesity Approach giving reasons as to why people should have a negative outlook on Obesity while also blaming a handful of obesity-related issues on the bad habits of an individual person. The HAES Manifesto adopts a more

Today nearly 60% of America 's population is overweight, a statistic that 's only growing. More and more children are abandoning traditional forms of exercise for video games, television and other forms of a rapidly expanding simulated reality. Too many Americans today are more concerned with social media and popular culture than what 's going on in their neighborhoods and in the country we all call home. People are losing touch with their own realities. Furthering this argument of a lost touch with reality comes the notion and expectation things come easily and anything requiring hard work or discipline is voided unnecessary, which I believe is a side-effect of technology. The obesity epidemic has drawn considerable attention from policymakers, and while new policy initiatives to address the issue are already underway, new policy initiatives are not enough and are likely going to overlook the simple truth. Technology is a major culprit behind this nation’s obesity epidemic. Cell phones, video games and 600 television channels are making kids gain weight, and there is no easy way to solve the issue, other than to get off your couch, pick up a salad instead of a slice of pizza and get active.

Obesity is one of our biggest issues in today’s society. We see many kids on a daily basis that are a lot on the bigger side. When we see these kids what do we start to think? Is it the parents fault, right? If you were to sit there and start to question it, you would say do the parents realize how big that child may be. I know I would and I would also blame myself for not paying close attention to what my child is eating. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure that your child is as healthy as you can.

Have you ever drank a pop or soda? I’m sure most people would answer yes to that question. But a better question is do you really know what is inside the can? Everything we put in our body effects us. From vegetables to doughnuts, everything