A Weighty Issue I know that everyone can think of someone who is not just really healthy, or a little thick around the middle, but is extremely overweight or even morbidly obese. We can all think of that someone who is constantly trying the newest fad diet in yet another unsuccessful attempt to lose weight. Obesity is an epidemic in America. Other countries incidences of obesity in children as well as adults are not nearly as high as those in this country. With all of the past and current pandemics and epidemics in the world, some may think that being fat does not rank in very high importance.
The problem of being unhealthy fat may be having a greater impact on our lives in American than we realize. In order to ameliorate the situation, we must first consider some of the underlying causes of this problem. One of the most prominent reasons for obesity is the wealth of the American Nation. Wealth has a tendency to bring about gluttony. Because the nation as a whole is very economically prosperous, people feel they have the right to overindulge.
People in America believe in living well and eating well, but not necessarily in being well. Americans are constantly seeking more “ebang for their buck.†As a result, fast food chains are commonplace in the American life. That fact combined with infamous super sizing is making Americans fatter and fatter by the generation. The obesity rate of the American population as almost doubled in a mere 25-year time span. Another reason for the high incidence of Adult obesity is inherently poor eating habits. Parents choose what to feed to their children. A childâ€TMs strongest shapers of life habits and attitudes are their parents. If parents are obese and have poor eating habits, there is a high likelihood that the children will face the same obstacles as children and even as adults. Thirty percent of American children are overweight. Thirty-five percent of obese children have one or more parents who are overweight.
These statistics gathered from the American Obesity Association shed light on a vicious negative cycle of fatness that will continue to plague America unless something is done. Most prominently in the 20th and 21st century, a sedentary and overly convenient lifestyle has also influenced the physical health of America. The United States has become the couch potato nation. More kids would rather stay inside and exercise their fingers that any other part of their body.
This is the reason why thirty percent of children the 21st century are overweight compared to just under 12% just 20 years ago. Fast food peddlers make it very easy to receive their product via the drive-thru window. Calorie and sugar loaded snack foods and drinks are available in vending machines, especially in schools. Everyone has cars, and people would rather ride than walk anywhere. America has also been flooded with a plastic surgery wave. People eat poorly, and do not exercise, and then just get the fat sucked away. What a convenient way to lose weight!
Americans are addicted to fattening and unhealthy foods, and are too pampered to do anything to naturally counter the effects of these harmful substances. Many things have the potential to destroy a nation. There are pandemics of diseases and severe starvation all over the planet. A nation that promulgates itself as being so advanced and intelligent should not succumb to destruction by something as seemingly simple as obesity. People all over the world are suffering because they do not have enough to eat, while the American people are killing themselves with food.
