The Weight Of The Nation

Long ago, the ancestors of humans lived in unpredictable times in which meals were not guaranteed. Now in the 21st century, data suggests, as mentioned in Fed Up, that there will be more deaths caused directly or indirectly by obesity than by starvation. The documentary Fed Up focuses on the terrifying issue that plagues the United States and the world: obesity. It delves into the components that contribute to this menacing epidemic that only continues to get worse. The documentary builds on the stories of four young American children from all over the country that are severely obese. One of the kids, at 14 years of age, weighs over 400 pounds. Fed Up tries to answer one simple question with a complex and scary answer. How did the world get here? There are several different issues the documentary tried to address to answer this question. In the documentary, several misconceptions about food were dissected. In addition to debunking myths about food, the documentary discussed how it is possible to eat healthy for less money than eating unhealthy. Those were a few of the aspects that can have an impact on individuals, but the documentary did not stop there. It also attacked the huge food industry for their misleading advertisements and selling techniques, as well as condemning their focus of selling to younger people. Furthermore, the documentary explained how the food industry is so rich and powerful in the country’s capital that it has thwarted the many attempts in trying

Many Americans are concern about the increment of disease and obesity caused by the limited options of healthy food, “since America is saturated with junk food advertising”(Khullar 135). However, in consequence of the absence of an American cuisine, fast food restaurants and foods high in fats offered by supermarkets, has become the first option to Americans. After all, Pollan’s argument that the lack of a stable traditional cuisine is the consequence of America’s national eating disorder and the steady national diet is reasonable since there are many factors that support his claim. For example, Mary Roach, in Liver and Opinions: Why We Eat What We Eat and Despite the Rest, claims that the food we eat is influenced by people’s cultural background; in other words, people are used to eating what their parents feed them when they were kids. “In addition, Americans have a conflict with having a stable eating habit; they tend to change their diet often”(Roach 123). Overall, Pollan’s is comprehensible while he argues that Americans do not have a stable culture of food, which causes an instability in people’s

The documentary “Fed Up” provides some important and disturbing details of the food industry. The 1977 heart disease and diet study known as the McGovern Report warned that the obesity rate was increasing rapidly due to American diets in fatty meats, saturated fats, cholesterol, and sugar. The food industry vehemently denied these claims, but the American people still demanded lower fat food products. The food manufacturers found that the fat removal made the food bland and unpalatable so to address this they replaced the fat content with sugar. Both the documentary and the Harvard Nutrition Source discuss the role sugar has in health conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. They both link the consumption of sugar as the causality for

The Weight of a Nation is a series of films discussing the effects of our diets and weight. These films discuss how we are overweight and the effects it not only has on our body, but on our society. Being obese not only affect us, but the people around us. We pass on the our habits to our children, and our health problems can start when we are children. This series of film show not only what causes obesity, but how we can change it. We only have one body so we have to take care of it. All of our actions have consequences, but our health consequences control our lives.

In the documentary film “Fed Up”, sugar and the sweeteners in our food or beverages is featured to be the prime ingredient that is making the most of our adolescents obese. It tells of a few families struggling with obesity, and how these families have been trying to do everything they can to help their children lose weight. It shows what kind of food that they are eating at home and the weight problem that most of the family is struggling with. The food that is being served at schools and also the thousands of products that contain sugar, everywhere groceries are bought; sugar is the main cause for obesity. It tells that low wage earners have no choice, but to buy unhealthy food, because healthier food cost more. “The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America. There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health” article in the U. S. News. Although it does cost more, a school of public health wrote in an article, “While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be

The United States currently struggles to eradicate the self-inflicted epidemic of obesity. In this rich, sedentary society, food is diverse, plentiful, and accessible. Hunting, foraging, and farming are confined to bountifully stocked grocery store shelves, legions of restaurants, and most nefarious of all, home delivery menus. Television commercials, billboards, and the Internet bombard conditioned citizens with images of generous portions of succulent delights. Rarely is an advertisement seen for the humble carrot unless it is slathered in cheese sauce and sharing a plate with fried chicken and a mound of butter soaked mashed potatoes. For most, the word diet is a verb that must be grudgingly invoked after years of indulgent meals. Two thousand

There are a variety of factors that can cause an individual to accumulate such high stores of fat (Wright & Aronne, 2012). Early researchers of obesity argued that the most common cause of obesity is a high caloric intake, or the consumption of high-calorie foods, that outstrips calories burnt via exercise (Wright & Aronne, 2012; Drewnowski et al., 2016). In other words, people accumulate excess body fat when they eat more calories than they burn, meaning obesity is caused primarily by the consumption of foods that are high in calories but low in nutritional value, and a sedentary lifestyle (Wright & Aronne, 2012; Drewnowski et al., 2016). More recently, however, researchers are recognizing the complex array of variables that interact to cause obesity, including environmental, social, and political factors known collectively as the social determinants of health (Wright & Aronne, 2012; Drewnowski et al., 2016). For example, research finds that our lived environments have been restructured in recent years to promote a culture of overeating: today, high-calorie fast foods are often more affordable than nutritious options, and are made conveniently accessible in the form of food trucks, pubs, and vending machines strategically placed on school grounds, college campuses, and near apartment buildings (Wright & Aronne, 2012; Drewnowski et al., 2016). Often, these foods are served in excessively large portions intended to promote the very over-eating that causes obesity (Wright & Aronne, 2012; Drewnowski et al., 2016). Moreover, the low priced, processed, ready-to-eat meals available in grocery stores tend to appeal to low-income families who cannot afford to purchase more expensive produce or take the time away from their work to prepare home cooked meals (Wright & Aronne, 2012; Drewnowski et al., 2016). Thus, recent research suggests that the

The obesity epidemic remains to have significance pressure on our lives. The HBO Film “Weight of the Nation” aim to open’s viewer’s eyes to a major increasing problematic that impact the existence of the human population in According to Suzanne Bennett the creator of the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic American. Current Statistic shows that the rate of obesity in the 1960s and 1970s only 13 percent of U.S. adults and 5 to 7 percent of U.S. children were obese. Today, 17 percent of our children, 32 percent of adult males, and 36 percent of adult females are obese. Some factor I believe contribute to obesity before seeing the Weight of the Nation are an unhealthy diet, consuming of food that is high in fat and people who have trouble coping with personal life that might lead to depression etc.

Food is a necessity, a source of energy that should be taken in moderation. Although, it has been an issue for consumers to maintain a healthy diet with the time and money while limiting their choices at the grocery store: purchases most often made swiftly and cheaply without reading the labels. Unknowingly, the food industry’s marketing shapes the ways consumers decide on their purchases, which significantly exploit children at a higher risk for obesity. “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” written by Michael Moss will further critique and examine the American diet that has been heavily influenced by giant corporations, which use important ingredients like salt, sugar, and fat to compete against other corporations and continue to

We live in a world that is in a continuous process of transformation, considering that progress manages to control all the aspects of individual's life. Being part of a society which is always changing makes it essential for people have to adapt to all these aspects. One of the biggest problems for the American society is that it has no time to eat, since it is always on the run. Fast food came as the greatest solution for this problem. Since the process of modernization of the American society is accelerated day by day, the fast food industry has gained its place on the market. Even if individuals are well aware of the problems they can and will encounter if they eat fast food, they are forced by the circumstances to fall back on it.

We are what we eat. Most of us have heard this many times, and just do not believe it; however, it is shockingly true. The human body is made up of the nutrients it extracts from foods (Katz). The importance of the statement “We are what we eat” often goes unrecognized, thus causing a major problem: parents not providing healthy diets for their children to ensure their best quality of life. Childhood obesity is a serious problem in America, and I believe it stems from parents. I have witnessed this first hand with my niece. It really bothers me that my sister-in-law often feeds my niece desserts and junk food instead of meats and vegetables. I have noticed that my niece is overweight and developing slower than she should. My family thinks it is cute, but I think it is starting her off in the wrong direction and posing problems for her future health. “For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years, the prevalence of obesity has remained fairly stable at about 17% and affects about 12.7 million children and adolescents for the past decade”(“Childhood Obesity Facts”). The number one cause for obesity is consuming an unhealthy diet filled with extra calories the body does not need. In a study of 6,212 children ranging in ages from four to nineteen, one-third ate fast food every day. By consuming fast food that often, it is likely to add about six extra pounds per child each year and increase the risk for obesity (Holguin). Although childhood obesity is problematic, there are

Over the past years health has became a major concern in America. The shocking increase in major health issues has leaded many individuals, doctors, and researchers on a journey to uncover what was leading to this epidemic. (1) “More than half of American adults were now considered overweight…40 million people clinically defined as obese.” What is triggering this nation wide epidemic? (5)Many explanations can be made for this controversy but excessive consumption is the focal point. Research has shown that it isn’t independently your fault on why you find it hard to deny certain foods. (1) Michael Moss from The New York Times has spent the past four years researching and reporting the extraordinary science of addictive food, he said their was “a conscious effort- taking place in labs and marketing meetings and grocery-store aisles- to get people hooked on foods that are convenient and inexpensive.” Food ingredients are over-stimulating our brain, which is causing addictive like behavior.

There are many reasons why we crave and desire many different foods, but fast food is fast and easy why would there be a need for change. There are many reasons why people's way of eating needs to change. Overall, there are situations in our health industries, that even the environment that oneself lives in can be a problem to their health as well. It is up to the teenagers to help stop this situation because they are the future of our state. Overall, obesity has been a big problem since the 70’s. However, more than before has this situation escalated and obesity has affected our continent causing the healthcare to spend billions. Even though people know they should eat healthier it is hard to reject

Over the years diets and serving sizes have changed regardless of the food choices because of the way people see available options. An article (Serves Up) informs the reader that there are unhealthy foods around us that are hard to avoid and that there are several advertisements which easily make food appealing. People do not bother to look at the product’s ingredients or calories. They eat and eat until they realize they are gaining weight. Our population does not monitor diets as much because they do not bother to see the damage the food they consume makes. Even then, they continue to eat it because of the cheap prices and the tempting advertisements. There are a variety of opportunities for people to go out there and educate themselves. There are people that are not even aware of how to read the nutrition facts on the back of what they purchase. The advertisements used make Americans eat fast food more than they are supposed to as well. In a slideshow of fast food images, there

An important factor in the uptake in consumption of unhealthy and fast foods is the availability and ease of access to it. Chandler does not mention this, but it is an important aspect to examine. Chandler mentions a study which examined caloric intake from 1970 to 2010, and found a that Americans consume 23 percent ‘more calories in 2010 than in 1970’ (Chandler). Since 1965 the average amount of leisure time of working men and women has dropped by eight hours per week(“Why Is Everyone so Busy?”). This however is seen as an opportunity by the fast food industry. People rarely want to use up a large portion of their free time cooking every day, so they turn to things like fast food, or quick and easy