Obesity is the fastest growing cause of disease and death, and the sad fact is that: obesity is preventable. 65% of all adults deal with obesity. Obesity has reached epidemic proportion in the USA due to the lack of proper nutrition, the new standards set by society and the peoples lose of self dignity. The US now is full of fast food restaurants that don't properly provide nutrition that we need to live healthy lives. Society has set higher standards that now say "its okay to be overweight" and people consider it discrimination when employees are criticized in the work place or when students are teased at schools. Americans allow this to happen because most of them refuse to take care of their bodies. Most Americans tend to be too self-confident when maybe they should be a little more self-conscience. In order to understand this obesity epidemic, one needs to understand the way societies principles work in the US today.
There are currently in the US today 47,000 McDonalds restaurants. An estimated 2,000 new ones come up every year. That means by 2036 we will have over 1,000,000 McDonalds restaurants in the US alone. That, along with the thousands of other fast food stops (Wendy's, Burger King, White Castle, KFC, Taco Bell, and many more) will be on almost every street. These companies are adding to a fire that Americans cant control. The food served at these restaurants are inadequately supplying Americans with healthy nutrition. The food is adulterated with chemicals that can be extremely harmful to the body. These chemicals also preserve the food to make it last longer and possibly make it harder to digest. These companies blitz the public with so many commercials that show people having a good time while eating this food. The companies don't read off the the negative effects their products have, instead the fun atmosphere and celebrity endorsements get all the bells and whistles in the commercials for these companies. These commercials can have a profound effect on choices made by children and adults. If you think about; they make millions of dollars selling this product, so why stop? They won't entirely change the way they make their products, they will do it just enough to make lawsuits go away or try to keep a activist group quiet. But the best idea to stop this problem would be to stop blaming these companies and get back on track. It's time to show some restraint and start eating healthy foods rather than this fast food.
Society today is setting very low standards on health. There are times were it may seem like a the US wants to become a healthy nation but then it continues to be lowered back into a obese nation. We have many programs on TV that promote healthy life styles and healthy choices. But when Americans try to emulate these new ways of life, they fail or they become tired of it and slump back into a bad cycle. Sometimes, there are serious health issues causing obesity. Whether its a disability or a disease that's cause harm to the body and creating access fat. There have been proven studies that show that there are actual human genes that cause obesity. Other times, and this is the case for most people, its eating too much and moving less. The Surgeon General, TV networks, health experts and many more have all suggested that Americans should have about 60 minutes of physical activity. Children and young adults get this through recess and extra curricular activities, and adults can get this from simply moving around and walking to their place of employment. In order to stop this epidemic, an increase in physical activity is required. Also, a key way to stop this epidemic would be to turn of the TV for a few hours or simply closing the cookie jar. Obese Americans can also adapt the "healthy foods at healthy proportions" rule. Society needs to stress this because a majority of Americans are followers and if people start following an active life style trend then more people will do the same.
Compared to other countries, the US is the best. Americans have advanced technologies most countries don't and we have rights that other people around the world only dream about. The US has one of the best literacy percentages and has a small percent of people below the poverty threshold. So America is the top country in the World. But one thing the US is that no one else is: the fattest country in the world. Americans are the largest people, but they are ashamed of it. Americans are ridiculed for their lack of concern for their bodies. It is terrible that Americans have all these positives but they all are canceled as soon as the obesity numbers come in. Americans consider it offensive to gibe at someone cause they're fat. In all fairness, they should but where do we draw the line? Studies show that show that people who spend majority of their lives around obese people become obese themselves. It truly is a disease and needs to be controlled. Americans can control this, first they need accommodate a bit more of "tough love". By telling a loved one that they are fat, in a nice way, may scare them on to a diet plan or a life style change. Of course with this there needs to be some patrol over what they try to do. They cannot and should not try to starve themselves to death because that will cause even more health problems. Secondly health literacy needs to be put into play. By showing someone what they're eating is bad for them, that might shock them as well. Most Americans see the nutrition labels but don't fully understand how to read them. Healthy literacy must be improved to stop this epidemic. Tough love seems like a bad idea but its unfortunate that some employers look for perception over substance when it comes to employees. That is wrong, and it does violate discrimination laws, but in order to ensure the safety of Americans when it comes to health we need to be more strict on obesity.
This epidemic is hurting Americans all over. It is the fastest cause of disease and death. Children are just as vulnerable as adults to this terrible disease. Americans need to strongly encourage prevention over treatment. The US spent roughly 117 billion dollars on obesity treatment. Americans have the resources to prevent this epidemic from continuing but they are not using them. Instead society finds a scapegoat and puts all the blame on the scapegoat. We need to stop blaming and start helping ourselves get back on track. For the future generation, its not too late to start prevention. Limiting junk food to children, ensuring all students in all schools have a healthy lunch and using portion control can help prevent this epidemic from further continuing. Benjamin Franklin once said: "an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure". That's what America needs: prevention, not cure.
No comments:
Post a Comment