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Essay about The Trend of American Obesity

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It is not difficult to notice that over the past 30 years, America's waistline has been growing. According to the American Obesity Association (AOA), close to 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese, and 9 million are considered severely obese. Overeating, consuming unhealthy and fatty foods and a lack of exercise are the most common causes that most people attribute to obesity, but a closer examination of the issue reveals that a chaotic and hurried lifestyle and an over-dependence on technology are partly responsible for creating the conditions where an unhealthy lifestyle has become the norm for most Americans.

The percentage of Americans overweight from 1976 to 1980 was almost 20% less than today's …show more content…

In 1976 people weren't lazy compared to 2003 the reason being that they didn't have a choice then. They had to go to a shopping mall to get what they wanted; they had to make a trip to the grocery store. Movement was a must to do regular household shopping and chores. Now we don't even have to get up from the couch to do our chores.

Today you don't have to vacuum your own carpet or mow your own lawn; you can buy a robot to do it for you. In some high-end homes the entire house can be operated from a laptop computer. Window shades, starting your car, even fires in the fireplace can be activated with push of a button. The technology we have incorporated into our lives has been a catalyst for obesity in the U.S. Our lives have become dependant on various forms of technology, and when that technology fails us, it is like pulling a crutch out from under our arm, and we are left with nothing to lean on in a time of need. Thus causing a very high stress level in our society.

The stress in our society causes us to eat more. According to the University of Birmingham stress is a leading cause of overeating. People use food for comfort when stressed out. A good example of this is when someone is down and a friend or family member offers to take them out for ice cream to cheer them up. In the U.S. there is typically at the very least one fast food restaurant in every city, thus making it very easy for a stress eater to find a quick comforting meal for one or

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