In America, as a nation, there is currently a huge battle regarding the obesity problem being paced in the United States. Obesity is likely being caused by the increase in the amounts of unhealthy foods available in our local schools and supermarkets as well as the difference in price between the healthy foods and unhealthy foods and how the food industry works. This obesity problem in the United States has recently evolved and is progressively worsening as the time goes on. Throughout the use of many different articles, there is clear evidence that this problem will continue to worsen until an effort is made to make a change and educate all the American citizens of how much damage is actually occurring to their bodies. More often than not, Americans will be driving through their city and realize that they are hungry. Instead of patiently waiting to eat until they return home, they will pull through a fast food place drive through and eat …show more content…
The unhealthy, bad foods, also known as junk food, can sometimes cost almost half the price of what items in produce would cost. Due to the differences in price, more often than not people will either turn to the junk food or even to fast food. In the documentary, Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock went 30 days with only eating McDonald’s for all three meals of the day. By the time day 21 came around, he began to wake up with a difficult time breathing which he described felt like major heart problems. By Spurlock partaking in this journey to prove how unhealthy the foods truly are, he was able to have the supersize me option eliminated. In addition, the supermarket is not the one who has the ability to change what foods they are providing to the consumers. The decision making process in all decided by food
So what is causing so many Americans, of all social classes, to consume fast food regularly? And how did the steady monopolization of chain-restaurants over local diners come to be? This is the focus of a book entitled Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal in which the author hones in on foul untold secrets of corporate restaurant chains.
America is one of the most obese countries in the world, known for apple pie and an excessive amount of McDonald’s. As a culture, there is a lack of self control when it comes to the foods we consume. People often over consume and over indulge, which has wreaked havoc on the health and well being of those who give in to these temptations. The issue is that large corporations and even our own government play a role in helping feed the problem; they care more about profitability and benefiting the business than the health of the consumer. The health of Americans is declining and more chronic diseases and health problems are appearing as a result of unhealthy diets, but there are many different methods that can help fix this issue.
Fast Food Companies Can End Obesity Judging from the title of David Freedman’s “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” published in The Atlantic, Freeman's audience, the upper middle class of America, conjures up an image of Freedman throwing away every piece of scientific data that shows junk food is hazardous to your health. However, this is not the case. Freedman brings to light a more compromising approach to solving America’s obesity problem than others have proposed.
When the dinner bell rings in America, many families are not flocking to the table, but running to the car and the call of the “Golden Arches”. In today’s over-scheduled world, food has now become an afterthought and America is paying the price, literally. Obesity is now an epidemic and a crisis that is not slowing down. The nation is not only paying the price with sky-rocketing medical bills from the effects of the American diet, but also with the deteriorating health of its citizens and for the first time in history, a generation with a shorter life expectancy than the generation before. Food today looks nothing like the food of just 40 years ago, and now instead, is making people sick and obese.
Every child in America can rattle off ten or fifteen different sugary snacks that they like with no problem, but not nearly as many can name the same number of fruits or vegetables that they enjoy. Junk food marketed towards children is a real threat to their overall health as they are too young to recognize that it isn’t healthy or good for them, they only see a brightly colored package and something that they think tastes good. Children in America are more obese than ever before due to the accessibility of junk foods, by letting children eat these foods adults are doing them a great disservice. Junk foods contain unhealthy or even cancer-causing chemicals that get added into the body, it can destroy mental health, and is the leading cause of obesity in America. Most junk foods like snack cakes, cookies, chips, and anything canned or frozen contain preservatives.
The grotesque amount of food purchases consumed by countless citizens explodes through the roof, with the nation as large as ever. Gone are the Renaissance days of plumpness being chic and desirable, since forth replaced by the yearning of health, fitness, and youth of the mind, body, and soul. However, these ideals hold little standings for the masses remain unhealthy. The supply and demand of ample quantities of foodstuffs veer people off the path of health and into the selfish world of delicious meals, snacks, and desserts. By placing restrictions on the magnitude of food consumed, overconsumption of food diminishes and obesity rates decline.
The obesity rate in America today is unreasonably high and something needs to be done about it. In the article Taxing Junk food to counter obesity published by the Us National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health in 2013 and states “Several studies suggest that high taxes may lead to measurable decreases in obesity on a population level, particularly if combined with additional interventions”. This law needs to be legalized for the safety and health of our nation for these reasons: Our obesity rate is at a all time high, This has been implemented in other countries around the world, and it more expensive to be obese. Our obesity rate in America is at a high rate and is only increasing, we as a nation need to make an effort to lower this percentage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “69.1% of American adults age 20 years and over are either overweight or obese.
Burger King, Mcdonald’s, Taco Bell familiar restaurants, that America knows the most. On an average week these fast food places are feasted on regularly rather than a home cooked meal. The first generation to die young of obesity related diseases. Life expectancy has gone down increasingly to now an alarming 78 years of age. Back in the 70’s the word obese did not even exist, food chains had small portions and families ate at the dinner table.
Obesity has become a major dilemma within America, mostly childhood obesity which has become in my eyes an epidemic. Childhood obesity will bring about adult obesity, health issues, psychological problems, and will even damper on sociological issues when pertaining to relating to culture and other people on a daily basis ( ex: brings about bullying or being bullied, social issues with kids, and low self-esteem and confidence). These include but never restricted to the fact of physical, social, environmental, psychological, and health issues all within a wider scale mostly if the pattern of obesity starts at an early age and then progress to adolescence and adulthood. The factors given in obesity has once again become a worldwide issue and concern for family, friends, and the child.
The book, Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, is about “The Dark Side of the All-American Meal”. Fast food in America is not as good as it seems. Most customers don’t know that by eating this food, they are putting their health at a serious risk. You only see the good side of things, but never the bad. Fast food chains are now in control.
Obesity in the United States has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent decades, and is one of the highest in the world. Obesity rates have increased for all population groups in the United States over the last several decades. Between 1986 and 2000, the prevalence of severe obesity quadrupled from one in two hundred Americans to one in fifty. Extreme obesity in adults increased by a factor of five, from one in two thousand to one in four hundred. There have been similar increases seen in children and adolescents, with the prevalence of overweight in pediatric age groups nearly tripling over the same period.
Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.
Obesity has reached new levels in recent years for “despite years of efforts to reduce obesity in America, including a major push by Michelle Obama, federal health officials reported Thursday that the share of Americans who were obese had not declined in recent years, and had edged up slightly.” (Tavernise ) The rise in obesity is matched by increasing controversy over who is ultimately responsible for keeping Americans healthy. Should the government step in and be the parent who forbids bad choices when it comes to eating? Or should every person determine their own path when it comes to nutrition and eating healthy?
“He’s a little chubby, but he’s young he’ll grow out of it.” Many parents hear this about their children. American children are experiencing the biggest percentage of children obesity. One of the many reasons that children are experiencing such a high percentage of obesity is that they are drinking so many sugary drinks, whenever they want. Children are able to go to a store and purchase a sugary drink because it is the cheapest thing to buy.
Why do food companies have so much power to influence our health? Food Production Companies may lure consumers unaware of these risks into buying more significant portions of unhealthy food at a lower price, leading to overconsumption and adverse health outcomes. This phenomenon has been dubbed the "portion-size effect," and it has been well-documented in research. To address this issue, food companies need to prioritize the health and well-being of their customers.