Obesity in America
Only in America can one see 78.1 million adults and 12.5 million children that are all obese. Obesity in America is an unstoppable epidemic. Since the 1960s, the number of obese adults have doubled and the number of obese children have tripled. Because of America’s obesity problems, Surgeon General David Satcher issued a report saying; "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight," said that obesity "have reached epidemic proportions" in America. Obesity in America has no doubt reached epidemic proportions. Since 2001, America has been the most obese country in the world. This essay discusses what obesity is and how it is affecting today’s America by answers the following questions:
1. What is Obesity?
2. How is obesity affecting America?
3. How is obesity affecting American children?
4. Risks of obesity in adults?
5. What are steps being took to prevent obesity?
Understanding how obesity is affecting American adults and American children, will help prevent future generations with the problems with obesity.
What is Obesity?
Obesity is when a person’s calorie intake exceeds one’s activity level. Activity burns calories and what ever calories are not burned, are stored as fat cells in the body. 19-24% is a healthy body mass index (BMI) for an individual. Mary Jo Thomas, M.D., states that “One that is obese has a body mass index of over 30. With a BMI of 30 or greater, one is at an immediate health threat.” (Thomas, 2013) Scientific evidence supports that the main causes of an obesity may include: ““increasingly sedentary lifestyle; high consumption of simple carbohydrates and fats (especially the refined sugars and greasy preparations common in junk and fast foods); and stress. To a lesser degree illnesses such as hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid), genetic predisposition, and psychotropic (mind-altering) medications may lead to excessive weight gain. The cause of American obesity is a combination of bodily predispositions or abnormalities and environmental factors.” (Thomas, 2013) Other studies found that genetics may be causing obesity. Ancient ancestors only had availability to an abundance of food during certain seasons. During the seasons where food was abundant, humans needed to gorge themselves when the food was available in order to survive during the seasons where food was not available. Today, food is available in abundance during every season. The availability of food today causes humans to gain the fat because genetics are used to their ancestors having to gain that fat to survive. No matter the cause, obesity is greatly affecting Americans.
How is Obesity Affecting America?
Today, America is fatter than ever. Since the 1960s, the number of obese American adults have doubled; the number of obese American children have tripled. Since 2001 America has had the highest obesity rate in the world. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control found that 78.1 million American adults and...
