Friday, March 16, 2018

Attacking the Obesity Epidemic Before It Bites Back


Obesity is a lifestyle disease that is on the rise in America and most other developed countries all over the world. What makes obesity such a serious menace is the fact that it is the leading cause of tens of opportunistic fatal diseases which include hypertension, cancer, and heart failure. The overreliance on technology has reduced the mobility of children and this coupled with comfort eating has led to a new phenomenon – the upsurge of childhood obesity. This has led to the rise of children affected with diseases that were initially thought of as diseases for adults.  There is therefore the need to examine this and take some precautionary steps to curb it.
This topic is widely prevalent around me. I believe the reason why childhood obesity is on the rise in America is because of the influence of poor eating/choosing habits that has brought to the social world. Options have slimmed down to a few when it comes to what is seen on TV. Lifestyles have changed in the last two decades. The fast food industry has overshadowed the minds of those who watch their advertisements that mislead watchers. People are lured in to the fast food life because of how convenient and affordable it is. Thus, the obesity rate has not stopped growing. Obesity leads to many health factors in adults and health problems that you would not see in kids before but are now a common disease in children such as Type 2 Diabetes. So who is to blame for the effects of obesity in America? The fast food industry? The government? Or is it the responsibility of what people decide to consume? Your opinions are great appreciated and may be sources of insight for my research paper :)

-Margareth Simbillo

2 comments:

  1. For the most part I think the people who decide to eat these foods are the ones to blame. Fast food restaurants are just changing their menu to catch up with the societies fast changing wants. They accommodate to what people want and the people are the ones who decide to consume these foods. In a way I guess you can blame govt. for making healthy foods more expensive but the govt. only makes healthy food more expensive because most people do normally eat fast food and the more they produce they lower the prices they have to eat. Not a lot of families in this time of age have time to cook a homemade meal. So the most obvious choice would be getting something fast which is McDonalds, etc. So in the end I believe it is in the hands of the people to choose the better option.
    - Jainah Fajardo

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  2. In my opinion, I feel that it is primarily the government's fault for America's health issues. I'm not saying that it isn't the public's fault as well, but the government controls most of what is produced and the costs of those products. The government is allowing American health to deteriorate so that they can make money off of the millions of people who have to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills for their diabetes, cancer, heart issues, etc. In addition, a majority of the public is not educated on the effects of certain foods because the government and the food industries, which are ran by the government, deem which foods are "healthy" and unhealthy.

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