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David King

Mr. Cottle

Enc 1102

March 4, 2013

~' \ \\ "'n1 An Obese America '\ 'tro \\--..t./ -lv ') ...... =-:::::, t\:{ll. t-\-- ~.. 1~ o'( LA-"'c ,

Many people ar{blind to the fact! America has become obese over the years.

The type of food that people eat and also a sedentary lifestyle has played a big role in the

increasing obesity rate. Many Americans eat pastas and pizza and other similar foods

because they are cheap and appealing. By eating large quantities of foods that are high in

carbohydrates and sugars, people are becoming heaviey6besity in the American

population has been increasing due to poor food choices in addition to a lack of physical . I r~,\ tG' ;J -)~\\ \;\lo t.-L-\wlt-\- __,Lv+ ··) tv' ~'Jr fu;l\7-.. uh ~-\,

exercise/

Americas "Toughest Trainer" Jillian Michaels was not always as physically fit as

she is today. It is no secret that Ms. Michaels was oveljWe,ight as a child in the 1980's. ' ' f\ "'cv\ v.- t> ... ..A--""l' • ~ r, ..._ lv 11\t~v--l "> iS'f'\1\. \<lo tl"l" •

This was the time when America really started to pack on the pounds. Sam Montana

explains this when he states "Obesity didn't happen over night. Obesity has been on the

rise since about 1980 and is now at epidemic proportions" (Montana). When Jillian was

growing up, she began eating too much for a variety of reasons. First, her dad would use

food as a way to connect to his daughter, He would make homemade ice cream, give her

bags of popcorn and let her eat bags and bags of Cheetos. Her mom would also give

Jillian food as rewards while growing up. Not only was she overeating because her

parents would give her a lot of food, but she would also eat for comfort. This was

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because her parents would fight often and she was shifted from one house to another once~ 1 ~~ \;\_, her parents divorced. She was either spending time with her dad while her mom was at .._,sJ ~\ ~ W ~

d. \ (,~(1\j(\ night school, with her mom at work, or spending many afternoons with a babysitter. She ~t3l; '"'~}

states that food comforted her because it was consistent and was always there (Michaels).

Jillian mentions that she never liked being with the babysitter during the

afternoon. Since she did spend a lot of time with a babysitter her mood probably was low.

Susan Lang states, "People feeling sad tend to eat more of less-healthy foods then when

they feel happy" (Lang). That statement would explain why Michaels would eat comfort

food when she was with the babysitter or while her parents were fighting. Whenever

those events were taking place Michaels probably was unsure of her situation and was

sad. In order to cheer herself up she would eat junk food; this provided comfort and put

Michaels in a better mood. A study done by Brian Wansink shows that people's moods

reflect their eating habits. To explain, a group of people were shown two movies, one

h d d Wh'l h' h . th . . . th . ~-~ &~ ') appy an one sa . I e watc mg t e movie e participants were gwen e opt1on to . """" -J v."\ , r..f"

eat either grapes or popcorn. While watching the happy movie people reported being in a )~~ ,c ' \ .. ~,_,.,) cr.! '( • >(-.:'(.~

happier mood and had a higher tendency to eat grapes over the popcorn. However, whe~ \"' ' \ _,\Jl $-\,~. \'( ~~~ \. ,..,

watching the sad movie they reported being more sad and ate a greater amount popcorn f "" \l.'

than grapes. This experiment shows that when people are feeling somewhat depressed or

sad they tend to eat junk food over healthier snacks (Lang).

Unfortunately many Americans who are not as physically fit as Michaels still

continue her bad childhood eating habits, not limiting themselves to just candy and chips,

but also overeating fast food. Fast food is full of grease and fat that contributes to weight

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. gain. It would be better if people were eating healthier foods such as more fruits and \f. . .,,,HJCJ 1

vegetables. These foods are nutritionally dense and contain fewer calories. llt is hard

~for many people to do that because of money -~ta, macaroni and cheese, pizza

and many fast food restaurants are very cost effective; which is why many people choose

to eat these food0 'IYJ '0-IJo\) ? There are other causes besides money that explain why people might choose to

eat fast foods and other cheap food. One major reason is that making a home cooked

healthy meal is very time consuming. Many families have both parents working or are

run by a single parent. To illustrate this E.J. Dionne Jr. states "In 2010, among families

":$-i with children, nearly half(44.8_percent) were headed by two working parents and another

·~~·--'' one in four~ent) were headed by a single parent" (Dionne). Many times these \lv 0

~ S11 ' parents do not have time to come home and cook a meal for the family so instead they

might just pick up some McDonalds on the way home from work. According to the

Crave Time-Team, the average household cooking preparation is about 40-50 minutes a

day (Crave Time Save). It tends to be hard for busy families to spend about an hour

cooking a meal when they could spend five minutes going through a drive-thru at a fast

food restaurant or making a microwavable frozen entree that takes a few minutes.

Making home cooked meals is often not very time and cost effective, which is why many

families resort to quicker methods of making meals tha\ are cheaper. ,O.o(\, 'f"'l7

Though these cost effective meals are cheap @really worth it? The majority of ./

fast foods and other cheap foods that come in a box, can, or carton are processed. This

means that their natural states have been. altered to prevent them from spoiling.

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According to Michael Pollen, Americans spend about 90 percent of money on food that is

"edible foodlike substances" (Wild). Processed foods have played a key role in some of

today's chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer (Wild).

Processed foods are unhealthy for several reasons. They contain trans fats, which

is an unsafe fat that raises the bad cholesterol while lowering the good cholesterol. When

there is too much bad cholesterol circulating in the blood, it can build plaque in the

arteries and can lead to a heart attack or stroke (Good vs. Bad). Having high levels of

good cholesterol can help prevent heart attacks while low levels of good cholesterol can

increase heart disease (Good vs. Bad). Another ingredient that is in processed foods is

salt. Too much salt is not healthy because it can contribute to heart disease. Salt also is

very addictive. Do you ever just eat one potato chip? Another addictive ingredient is high

fructose corn syrup. This ingredient plays the role of sugar in these processed foods

except it has one main difference. When you eat sugar, it is burned and turned into

energy, but when you eat high fructose corn syrup it turns into fat. Additives also affect

processed foods. Betsy Wild states "the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains

a list of more than 3,000 chemicals that are added to the processed food supply to add

color, stabilize, texturize, preserve, sweeten, thicken, etc" (Wild). There are some

chemicals on that list of 3, 000 that have never been tested to see if they are safe for

human consumption and there is no government approval necessary. Those that have not

been tested are on the FDA's list of"Generally Recognized as Safe" list (Wild). In

general, processed foods have no real nutritional benefit; people consume more and more

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of them and this factor affects obesity. People eat less whole, or foods in their natural

states. Overall this can contribute to poor health and obesity.

There are many other factors leading to the obesity crisis in America. For r\Jp ~cr, example, the size of food portions has increased over the years. People today have a

distorted view of what a typical meal should look like. According to Liz Monte, twenty

years ago two slices of pizza was about 500 calories. Today two slices of pizza is 850

calories (Monte). This example shows that the portion size of pizza has increased more

than a quarter of what it used to be twenty years ago. Another illustration that Monte

provides is in the size of movie popcorn. Twenty years ago the average size of popcorn

was five cups at about 270 calories. Today when people go to the movies the normal

amount of popcorn is a tub that is 630 calories. It is shocking to see how much greater the

size and calories of popcorn at the movies is today versus twenty years ago. It is not only

in select foods that the proportions have increased, but just about all foods and meals

have enlarged in size (Monte). V\ ~"' \" . \s'-'

\o<l.. t....- \'-~'The advancement in technology is another factor playing a role in obesity.

r Tr~hnology is a major part of Americans' daily lives, which can have its positive effects

as well as its negative ones. To illustrate, getting work done faster and more efficiently as

well as providing entertainment are all benefits of technology. On the down side though,

more and more people are spending endless amounts of hours on devices and in front of

screens. Yes, they may be enjoying themselves, but they are not doing anything to benefit

from it physically. People do not spend time exercising, working outside, and moving

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their bodies to remain physically fit. They are not using up the extra calories taken in

through increased portion sizes and sugar and chemical additives in processed foods. o.J.

Computers, iPads, iPhones, tablets, televisions, videogames are just a few

examples of devices that many young people use for countless hours each day. Just about

everyone has at least one of those items or something similar. All of those electronic

devices are great and have many advantages, but it seems like they are starting to be a

priority in life. Many people have to check their Facebook every hour or so or update

their twitter and check their email, etc. More and more people are spending additional

time using these devices and spending less time outside and exercising. To illustrate, Jeff

Bullas mentions a scary fact, which states that Facebook users spend about 15 hours and

33 minutes a month on Facebook (Bullas). Lindsay Hutton provides another examples

when sh{\ states, "According to the survey, in just five years, media use has increased ~~ ~ 1- (h~ IJ..i'>'\.u'.l~

from~ to nearly 7 Y2 hours a day in children between the ages of 8 and 18" (Hutton).

From these facts it is obvious that children and adults have increased the amount of time

spent on electronic devices over the past few years. Vigorous physical exercise is

necessary to maintain good health and unfortunately Americans are making it less of a

priority.

The increase in obesity is a growing problem in America, but there are many

ways in which we can reverse it or stop it altogether. For example, exercising can be very

beneficial and effective in staying fit and losing weight. According to

ChooseMyPlate.gov, adults between 18 and 64 should be doing at least 2 hours and 30

minutes of mild exercise a week and children between 6 and 17 should do at least an hour

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of physical activity every day. There are plenty of ways to add physical activity each day:

taking the dog for a walk before and after work, joining a yoga class, swimming or lifting

weights. It is important to. exercise in at least 10 min~te time periods ~ .

-,~" (ChooseMyPlate,gov). '~'"'-OJ -

Eating healthy foods and in the right proportions are both successful ways to lose

weight and to keep from becoming obese. ChooseMyPlate.gov for example is full of

helpful information about the right amount of certain foods someone .1should eat based off

. bh.{ y;·h their age, gender and amount of physical activity. To illustrate, Clm,oseMyPiate.fN_~

advises that girls between the ages 14 and 18 should have about 1 Yz cups of fruit on a

daily basis. In comparison, the website says that boys between 14-18 are recommended

to have 2 cups of fruit on a daily basis. There are also nutritional tips for eating healthy.

A few tips are: balance calories, make half your plate fruits and vegetables, and drink

water instead of sugary drinks. Those are just a few of the many recommendations

ChooseMyPlate.gov gives (ChooseMyPlate.gov).

ChooseMyPlate.gov offers ways for people to get physically fit and eat healthy

agam. Exercise is critical for everyone. Not only is getting enough exercise needed, but

it is also important that people choose to eat foods that provide vitamins, minerals, fiber

and protein versus those that are filled with empty calories.

Obesity is not something to ignore. It is a major problem that needs to be

addressed and changed. Fast foods and processed foods are partially to blame for this

crisis. It is not only the fact that companies sell these unhealthy foods, but that many

Americans choose to eat them for various reasons. Time, money and comfort are all

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motives that cause people to choose such foods . In addition, people need to put down

their electronics and get up from behind the computer or television and go outside and do

some physical activity . The lack of exercise is a major component in why the obesity rate

has increased over the years. Eating better and exercising more are ways to correct and

avoid the obesity crisis in America.

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Works Cited

Bullas, Jeff. "20 Stunning Social Media Statistics Plus Infographic." Jeffbul/ass Blog

RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. <http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011109/02/20-

stunning-social-media-statistics/>.

"Crave Time Save Time so You Can Do What Matters." Save Time Cooking. Crave

Time, 5 Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. <http://www.cravetime.com/save­

timelhouseho1d/save-time-cooking-meal-preparation>.

Dionne, E.J., Jr. "Two-paycheck Couples, Working Because They Must." Washington

Post. N.p., 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

<http:/ /articles. washingtonpost.com/20 12-04-18/opinions/354507 41_ 1_ single­

parent-american-families-income-distribution>.

"Good vs. Bad Cholesterol." Good vs. Bad Cholesterol. American Heart Association, 5

Sept. 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

<http:/ /www.heart.org/HEAR TORG/Conditions/CholesteroVAboutCholesteroVG

ood-vs-Bad-Cholesterol_ UCM _305561_ Article.jsp>.

"How Much Fruit Is Needed Daily?" How Much Fruit Do You Need? N.p., n.d. Web. 14

Feb. 2013. <http:/ /www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/fruits-amount.htrnl>.

"How Much Fruit Is Needed Daily?" How Much Fruit Do You Need? United States

Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

<http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/fruits-amount.htrnl>.

Hutton, Lindsay. "The M2 Generation: Are Your Kids Too Dependent on the Media?"

How Much Time Do Children Spend with Television and the Media? Family

Education, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2013 .

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<http://life.familyeducation.com/computers/television/65248.html>.

Lang, Susan. "How Mood Affects Food Choice." How MoodA.ffocts Food Choice. N.p.,

23 Jan. 2007. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

<http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/jan07/food.mood.sl.html>.

Michaels, Jillian. "Let Me Guess--Is This Happening to You?" Master Your Metabolism

New York: Crown, 2009. 13-18. Print.

Montana, Sam. "How Obesity Became an Epidemic." All Articles RSS. N. p. , n.d. Web.

12 Feb. 20 13. <http:/ I obesity. knoj i. com/how-obesity -became-an-epidemic/>.

Monte, Liz. "Portion Size, Then vs. Now." Divine Caroline. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb.

2013 . <http://www. divinecaroline. com/self/wellness/portion-size-then-vs-now>.

Wild, Betsy. "Why Processed Foods Are Bad For You- Needham, MA Patch." Needham

Patch. N.p. , 4 Dec. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.

<http:/ /needham. patch. com/ articles/why-processed-foods-are-bad-for -you>.