Child Obesity is drastically increasing, shooting the numbers sky-high, leaving the United States with the highest percentage of children and teens suffering from obesity. In order to find a solution to this worldwide problem, we need to determine what is causing this intolerable issue. According to Michelle Obama, as she stated in the news article “Speaking Out”, “If patterns don’t change by 2031, half of Americans will be suffering from obesity.” (Obama, 2013) Obesity doesn’t have one justification; it has numerous factors that lead children to be obese. With multiple reasons that have lead up to obesity, there is a variety of precautions that you can take to avoid this unhealthy condition and prevent this from happening.
First off, why is just a little extra weight so bad? Obesity isn’t having a couple extra pounds. Obesity is a condition and it occurs when there is an excess amount of fat on the body, protruding your organs. This condition can lead to a development of numerous other life threatening diseases. Obesity can lead to a variety of multiple unhealthy conditions. Taken from ASU’s Health Issue Collection, “Obesity can lead to other illnesses from chronic to acute, some very severe and deadly, such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Vascular Disease, Heart attack, stroke, and even cancer. All of these diseases are very preventable if one can educate themselves and learn to be more careful with what they eat and how much physical activity they do. 4 of the top 10 leading causes of death are all related to obesity, and are direct causes of obesity.” (ASU, 2005) It may not be one “thing” that makes you obese, but a pattern of unhealthy choices that can lead you in to an unhappy future.
For instance, one factor contributing to obesity is the overpopulation of fast food restaurants, also including the option of a drive thru. Restaurants similar to McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King and the extending list, offer an easy accessible way to get food for a low affordable price, in a short amount of time. By picking some of the most famous items on the menu, it seems harmless, however, it would be able to complete your daily calorie need in one meal. (Goody, 2011) Families that have more children, are more likely to get lured into these places, due to the cheap prices, feeding their family with a budget around 3 dollars per person including a drink, a main dish, and a side. Most restaurants claim to have fresh produce, but quoted from Handy, in a medical journal, “They have their sneaky and dirty little loopholes.” (Hardy, 2012) With freezing as a “natural preservative”, it is easy to maintain a quick cook time to get it to the drive thru costumers in under an average of 5 minutes. As quoted from Kohnle, “With the option of changing the size of your meal, as you eat it, your calories are tripling each bite.” Although some fast food places do have fresh foods and healthy benefits, the majority of the menu...