Why is there an obesity epidemic? Well there are a few components that add to the obesity epidemic. I am going to share with you what I think as a negative impact on the obesity rates. First off, the obesity rates in America are constantly rising. There are about double the number of obese children now than there was in the 20th century. The problem keeps getting worse by the day.
The first component that negatively impacts obesity in America is the serving size. The serving sizes in America is way bigger than other countries and their serving sizes. A lot of countries only have two meals a day while America has three meals a day. Most European countries don’t have breakfast. Most people will have a cup of coffee and that is it. Also, in America we have way more fast food restaurants which most of them do not have nutritious foods. People rather go to a fast food restaurant than make their own foods in our American society, as this has become the standard alternative to having food quickly and easily.
Another component to the obesity rates in America is food deserts. Food Deserts are places where there are only poor nutritional foods available. It is a place where it is usually hard to find nutritional and organic foods. Normally these food deserts are found in poor communities, where they only have the money for unhealthy foods, and the environment they are around only typically offer these kinds of foods as they are cheap and easy to sell to the population. The obesity rates are at the cost of nutritional foods. The cost of organic foods is more expensive than other types of food. It makes it hard for poor Americans to buy these things due to the cost of these items, which contributes to the increase in obesity rates. A large factor to the obesity rates is the amount of sugary drinks and foods that are in America. In America, it is a norm for people to drink sodas and candy on a regular basis. Which is terrible for the human body, especially in large quantities and the sizes that they are served in. There are many chronic diseases you can get from sugary drinks and foods. You are more at risk of contracting diabetes, heart disease and cardiovascular problems, but there a lot more disease you can get from sugary foods and drinks.
These are just some of the components that impact the obesity rates, and of course there are other factors that contribute to obesity rates. Obesity is a big issue in America, and something needs to be done to reverse these rates. There should not be more obese children than adults, or as many as obese children as there is today. Due to the consumption of sugary drinks and fast food, people are contracting diseases that could have easily been prevented. I hope that people share this information and start to create a change in the obesity epidemic.
Austin's Health Blog 