Remember how I made the Facebook post about how I went on a 3 page mini-rant about obesity in America and all that? Well, here's the paper. Let me start you off with some interesting statistics though.
As of August 13, 2012...
- more than one-third of U.S. adults (that would be 35.7%) are obese
- obesity related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer which are some of the leading causes of PREVENTABLE death
- higher income women are less likely to be obese than low-income women
- there is no significant relationship between obesity and education among men
- among women it is found that women with college degrees are less likely to be obese compared with less educated women (GO TO FUCKING SCHOOL!)
- between 1988-2008 the prevalence of obesity increased in adults at all income levels
- The Healthy People of 2010 goals of 15% obesity among adults and 5% obesity among children WERE NOT MET!
- THE UNITED STATES IS THE MOST OBESE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD with 30.6% of the population considered obese. We are followed by Mexico at 24.2%. That's a 6.4% difference--WHAT THE FUCK 'MERICA?!
*information provided by the CDC website
Can I Get A Large Fry With That?
According to statistics the United States is the world’s leader in incidents of obesity. (“Obesity-Statistics”). The Center for Disease Control states that at least one-third of Americans are considered overweight. (“Adult Obesity”). With numbers like those the issue is definitely a serious social problem. Especially when we take into account the health risks associated with the condition.
This state of being, in my opinion, is ridiculous and logically should not be such a problem. With the technology we have and the resources at our disposal all Americans should have access to wholesome and nutritional food. Not only that, but the statistics and educational information are out there. I typed ‘obesity’ into Google and immediately found legitimate, easy to understand sources explaining the prevelance and how to eat healthier and what to avoid. With the information at our fingertips, the continuing existence of such a problem is truly sad.
As a country we have become so lazy and complacent that we don’t even take the time to consider what we are putting into our bodies. We are raising our children in a culture of instant gratification. We live in an “I want it, I want it now” society. The population is being brainwashed by fancy packaging, manipulative advertising, and ambiguous nutritional information.
With the introduction of genetically modified seeds in 1996 (“Cultivation of GM Plants”). Americans have begun to disregard the natural laws in order to alter organisms to our advantage. I don’t see how this can end well. In nature there is a specific reason plants grow the way they do. Otherwise, they would stay in season year round, or naturally repel insects, or grow to the immense sizes they do today on their own. Who are we to interfere with that? What kind of consequences will this eventually create? And as a poor college student consumer in a small town I unfortunately eat my fair share of preservative, sodium, high fructose corn syrup packed ‘food.’
With the general inaccesability and high price of organic food in most parts of the country it really is no wonder such a large percentage of Americans are obese. Even with increased availability of healthier, natural options, I don’t know that there would be many who take advantage of them. Our lifestyles encourage the consumption of quick, ready made food because of the fast paced world we live in. This also discourages regular exercise as well, as most Americans work long hours and lead stressful lives. They would rather unwind in front of the TV with a frozen dinner and beer on their day off than go running and come home, prep a meal and wait for it to cook.
Unfortunately, in writing this I realize the hypocrisy in a lot of my statements as I’m definitely a statistic in a lot of the consumer situations. Although I feel I at least make some effort most of the time, I’m still a participant in the instant gratification society we live in. Maybe if everyone did this, at least put forth a little more effort and concern into their nutrition trends would change. Also, if the food industrty concerned itself less with profits and more with health issues, maybe the obesity rates would decline. The industry could change focus to healthier foods and not lose money if they use the same clever advertising for the good stuff as opposed to the junk. And besides, with all the fatal health conditions caused by being overweight they’re losing a target consumer everytime one of them dies. Isn’t that counter productive? Food for thought.
This state of being, in my opinion, is ridiculous and logically should not be such a problem. With the technology we have and the resources at our disposal all Americans should have access to wholesome and nutritional food. Not only that, but the statistics and educational information are out there. I typed ‘obesity’ into Google and immediately found legitimate, easy to understand sources explaining the prevelance and how to eat healthier and what to avoid. With the information at our fingertips, the continuing existence of such a problem is truly sad.
As a country we have become so lazy and complacent that we don’t even take the time to consider what we are putting into our bodies. We are raising our children in a culture of instant gratification. We live in an “I want it, I want it now” society. The population is being brainwashed by fancy packaging, manipulative advertising, and ambiguous nutritional information.
With the introduction of genetically modified seeds in 1996 (“Cultivation of GM Plants”). Americans have begun to disregard the natural laws in order to alter organisms to our advantage. I don’t see how this can end well. In nature there is a specific reason plants grow the way they do. Otherwise, they would stay in season year round, or naturally repel insects, or grow to the immense sizes they do today on their own. Who are we to interfere with that? What kind of consequences will this eventually create? And as a poor college student consumer in a small town I unfortunately eat my fair share of preservative, sodium, high fructose corn syrup packed ‘food.’
With the general inaccesability and high price of organic food in most parts of the country it really is no wonder such a large percentage of Americans are obese. Even with increased availability of healthier, natural options, I don’t know that there would be many who take advantage of them. Our lifestyles encourage the consumption of quick, ready made food because of the fast paced world we live in. This also discourages regular exercise as well, as most Americans work long hours and lead stressful lives. They would rather unwind in front of the TV with a frozen dinner and beer on their day off than go running and come home, prep a meal and wait for it to cook.
Unfortunately, in writing this I realize the hypocrisy in a lot of my statements as I’m definitely a statistic in a lot of the consumer situations. Although I feel I at least make some effort most of the time, I’m still a participant in the instant gratification society we live in. Maybe if everyone did this, at least put forth a little more effort and concern into their nutrition trends would change. Also, if the food industrty concerned itself less with profits and more with health issues, maybe the obesity rates would decline. The industry could change focus to healthier foods and not lose money if they use the same clever advertising for the good stuff as opposed to the junk. And besides, with all the fatal health conditions caused by being overweight they’re losing a target consumer everytime one of them dies. Isn’t that counter productive? Food for thought.
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