Obesity in America

Obesity in America

Obesity in America is an ever-growing problem and has boosted America to the number one spot in terms of obese population. Obesity can be defined as a condition in which the body carries abnormal or unhealthy amounts of fat tissue, leading the individual to weigh in excess or 20 percent more than his or her ideal weight (Health & Illness). The normal amount of body fat in young men is 15-18%, in young women is 20-25%, and in older adults is 30-40%. How do people become overweight or obese in the American society? There are several ways to obtain the obese tag, but many are contrary to our beliefs such as bad diet and lack of exercise. Why is it that America has such a high number of obese people? What causes this in our society? I'm sure these are all questions you wonder when you hear that America is so obese. I shall address all of these and hopefully offer a developed perspective on the problem in America.

Often times obesity begins during childhood. About 15.5 percent of adolescents, (ages 12 to 19) and 15.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are obese (American Obesity Association). Children need much nurturing while they're young because they do not fully understand things. The things kids know are the things that are taught in the household. Parents must set a good example for their children and that also includes diet. It is truly essential to teach about the importance of a healthy diet. Schools are also a great influence on the youth diet problem. "The epidemic of childhood obesity is a tragedy for many reasons, and portends poorly for the health of our entire nation in the coming decades. Obese children have a low quality of life; the quality of life of severely obese children is similar to that of kids with cancer. Obese children also have a strong predisposition to become obese adults" (CommercialAlert.org). This goes along with my point that if people become overweight at a young age, it is likely this weight will carry on into later years when it matters more. A growing obesity rate in young children is a major issue that could affect further generations. The problem must be handled domestically; parents are responsible for not only their own diet, but the diet of their children as well.

Fast food, wow I know everybody has seen a McDonalds once in their life. That new dollar menu is very attractive because of both its affordability and ability to make you full. That is common of the U.S. population you want to eat and be full. I can recall that in youth I would often times try to avoid being full because I was so active. It's incredible what a few years can do to you. Now I want to be full whenever possible and exercise or physical activity is far from the forefront of my mind. My own lifestyle is a great example of how easily a bad diet can be obtained. I will get into more specifics later on in my essay but let me introduce a major aspect of the growing problem in this country, fast food.

This next category is about my three most common locations; McDonalds, Burger King, and Jack in the Box. Let me begin with the king of fast food, McDonalds! How odd, this place is so popular that my spell check corrected my spelling of it. I guess a corporation of that proportion is able to even have a presence on Microsoft Word. Not too long ago a documentary called "Super Size Me" was written about McDonalds which opened my eyes to the problem of obesity in society. Watching that movie ignited something in my brain because I became suddenly fascinated with the topic. McDonalds makes the claim that

"McDonald's attempts to provide nutrition and ingredient information regarding its products that is as complete as possible. Some menu items may not be available at all restaurants; test products, test formulations or regional items have not been included. While the ingredient information