Chew On This

Madi Pethick
Professor Key
English 1302
11 August 2014
Chew on this: America’s Massive Problem. America: land of the free and the home of the brave, and recently, the home to a growing waistline. As for any other country, America is prone to an assortment of problems like immigration, debt, or foreign affairs, but one issue that is rather hard to overlook, quite literally, is the obesity epidemic. The extra pounds have become a common sight in America’s society, “men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity does not just affect adults in this way either, the child population has been getting bigger as well, according to the numbers on the scale, “the proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled.” (Kolbert). This issue has been a major concern to doctors and scientists for decades and in recent years, has even has the American Medical Association recognizing obesity to be a disease (Pollack). That is a highly debatable claim because obesity itself is a preventable lifestyle, avoidable and curable to all (or at least most) of its sufferers. For some of the populaces, obesity is not a choice, rather genetics, but for the majority of the obese population, the extra weight is caused by an unhealthy diet and sluggish lifestyle, and for these certain individuals, through a lot of work and discipline, the return to a healthy lifestyle is not as impossible as it may appear. It is time for America to tip the scales back in the right direction. Walking around today, it is almost impossible not to see someone who is obese, for “more than one-third (or 76.8 million) if U.S. adults are obese.” (“Adult Obesity Facts”). So for every three people strolled past, at least one is obese, and that is far too many. Doctor’s use a person’s BMI (body mass index) to determine what weight range they fall under, be it underweight, overweight, or if they truly are to be defined and labeled as an obese individual. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention “an adult who has a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight [while] an adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.” (“Defining Overweight and Obesity”). For some, having a BMI of 30 is not enough “as the average person became heavier, the very heavy became heavier still; more than twelve million Americans now have a body-mass index greater than forty…” (Kolbert). With the mass amount of excess weight shuffling around these days, it could be convincing to see why the A.M.A views obesity as a disease.
A disease is “an impairment of the body or one of its parts resulting from various cause, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.” (Kahan). Obesity is undoubtedly an impairment of the body, resulting from a various cause, such as an infection (of highly sugared and fattening foods), possible, but extremely unlikely, genetic defect, or environmental stress from the overscheduled, fast-paced lifestyle of the average American. It has an identifiable group of signs involving “weight gain, difficulty moving, diminished breathing capacity, skin changes, joint pain…” (Kahan), and with that, obesity does manage to meet all requirements to be called a disease, but that is as far as the argument goes. According to “Obesity: Is it a Disease?”, “obesity is a preventable risk factor for other diseases and conditions, and is not a disease itself.” (“Obesity: Is it A Disease?”) Being obese comes with far more than just joint pain or the need to buy a bigger pair of jeans, it creates a risk for failing organs and high blood pressure or cholesterol along various other disease that can be fatal if not monitored. Also mentioned in the article, “obesity is a side effect…” (“Obesity: Is it A Disease?”), mostly from eating too much and having a sedentary lifestyle, but also from certain diseases and possible genetic defect.
Sadly, not every individual has been blessed with a choice to a growing waistline. For a select few, genetics really are to blame, but any genetic “…variants account for about 5% of morbid human obesity.” (“Genetics of Obesity and the Prediction of Risk for Health”), so these individuals are fairly rare in the obese community. Though much is left to be discovered and understood about the complex make up of genes, it has been determined that “…genes regulate how our bodies capture, store, and release energy from food.” (“Obesity & Genetics”). For those unlucky five percent, the majority suffer from “…[the] ‘pure’ form of obesity, where the gene defect is in appetite regulation.”, and the rest are involved in some “…30 different Mendelian disorders that have obesity as a significant clinical feature.” (“Genetics of Obesity”). Past that, the remaining 95 percent of the obese population gained their entry, and their weight from an unhealthy diet and lazy ways.
In today’s society, the population yearns for things to make lives easier. Laziness has become a common trait shared by everyone: smart phones to do the thinking, television, internet, and videogames for entertaining, a couch for “potato-ing”, and a vehicle for transporting. There is growing ease to life, mostly because everything has been evolved around the average American’s way of life, especially food. Food has been made simpler, quicker, cheaper, and very accessible to any citizen, of any status, and American’s always seem to be hungry. Sarah Muntel writes “since 1970, the amount of fast food restaurants in business doubled, which equates to about 300,000 establishments in the United States.” (Muntel). These Burger King’s, Wendy’s, What-A-Burger’s, Pizza Hut’s or the forever known golden arches have planted themselves virtually everywhere, even on the remote militia Mount Cheyenne in Colorado, giving troops the availability of fast food (Schlosser). With such an immense exposure to these chains, through radio, television commercials and seeing these buildings on practically every block, there is no wonder to why American’s flock towards the fast, delicious (by opinion) and cheap source of food rather than rushing home to create dinner themselves.
American’s have become obsessed with cheap and quick. Patience has become a rare virtue, the people are so used to having what they would like at the tips of their fingers that waiting has become a thing of the past, and the cheaper the better. It is true, to an extent, that fast food is less expensive than any salad, or tofu dinner. In fact, “…meats and proteins [have] the largest price differences, with healthier options costing an average $0.29 more per serving than less healthy options. Other categories such as snacks/sweets and grains also cost more for healthier options, at $0.12 and $0.03…”, so yearly, “…unhealthy food is about $1.50 cheaper per day, or about $550 [saved annually]…”(Polis) versus its healthy counterpart. That $550 savings does not take into account the impending medical costs of someone’s daily fast food diet, however. Yearly, millions upon billions of dollars are spent medically to aid the obese, “…annual medical costs alone have been estimated as high $190 billion…” or in other words, little over one-fifth (twenty percent) of all medical costs (“Consequences of Adult Overweight and Obesity”). Not all of that money goes towards just treating the patient though, some of the outflow of cash is forced to go towards accommodating the patient as well:
“Hospitals have had to buy special wheelchairs and operating tables to accommodate the obese, and revolving doors have had to be widened—the typical door went from about ten feet to about twelve feet across. An Indiana company called Goliath Casket has begun offering triple-wide coffins with reinforced hinges that can hold up to eleven hundred pounds.” (Kolbert) That is a tremendous amount of money going towards something that is easily preventable and treatable with a healthy lifestyle.
The advantages of reaching and maintain a healthy lifestyle are rather self-explanatory, “if you are overweight or obese, you are at higher risk of developing serious health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.” (“Why Is a Healthy Weight Important?”), and equally as important, self-confidence increases. Losing weight is always a challenge, and involves plenty of discipline and hard work. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggest that “… if you are overweight or obese, reduce your daily intake by 500 calories for weight loss.” (“Why Is a Healthy?”). Reducing calorie intake can be as easy as portion control and/or planning out the day’s meals. The word “diet” is actually pretty scary most, as thoughts of flavorless food and hours spent at the gym follow its sound. There are thousands out there, most of which are purely insane and involve radical changes to a lifestyle. It really is not about what is eaten rather how much of it is eaten, relaying back to portion control. Obese American’s are going to have to learn to pass up the McDonald’s on the corner and venture home to concoct up a delicious and healthier meal to begin the journey to a healthier life.
Along with eating healthier, incorporating exercise into a daily routine is vital to escape obesity’s grasp, “people who want to lose a large amount of weight (more than 5 percent of their body weight)—and people who want to keep off the weight that they’ve lost—may need to be physically active for more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week.” (“Be Physically Active”). Melinda Smith and her co-writers suggest “[using] tools that track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound and inch you lose. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.” (Smith). However, every person is different, there is no “one size fits all” way to reach and uphold the healthy lifestyle. To help combat obesity and reduce its alarming levels in society, each individual will have to work hard and have discipline to reach the goal weight.
In the recent decades, the American gut has not just grown, but actually ballooned, “…in 1994, they published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In just ten years, they showed, Americans had collectively gained more than a billion pounds.” (Kolbert). Obesity has plagued the country and become an epidemic. The weights of Americans have become out of control and it is spreading from generation to generation. The American Medical Association has just recently recognized obesity as a disease, but treating obesity as such raises some room for argument. Obesity is an avoidable lifestyle choice for most of the bodies it has claimed. Not all citizens are lucky enough to choose against the tiring life, but the majority of the obese community seizes the excess weight from unhealthy eating habits and a couch-infused life. Being obese does not mean the end of the road; along with a better diet and exercise, the population can work together and relieve America of its developing waistlines. According to America’s Health Rankings, “obesity is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States, causing an estimated 200,000 deaths per year.”(“Obesity”). It is time for American citizens to combat the epidemic, and stop digging graves with their own forks and spoons.

Works Cited
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"Consequences of Adult Overweight and Obesity « Food Research & Action Center." Frac.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/what-are-the-consequences-of-adult-overweight-and-obesity/>.
"Defining Overweight and Obesity." CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/ adult/defining.html>. "Genetics of Obesity and the Prediction of Risk for Health." Oxford Journals.org. Human Molecular Genetics Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/15 suppl_2/R124.full>. Kahan, M.D. Scott. "Why Obesity Is a Disease." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost, 19 May 2011. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-kahan-md/obesity-disease_b_861087.html>.
Kolbert, Elizabeth. "XXXL - The New Yorker." New Yorker. N.p., 20 July 2009. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/20/xxxl>.
Muntel, Sarah. "Fast Food – Is It the Enemy?" Obesity Action Coalition. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Aug. 2014. <http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/nutrition/fast-food-is-it-the-enemy>.
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/>.
"Obesity: Is It a Disease?" Obesity ProCon.org. N.p., 3 June 2014. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://obesity.procon.org/>.
Polis, Carey. "Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Aug. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/eating-healthy-vs-unhealthy_n_4383633.html>.
Pollack, Andrew. "A.M.A. Recognizes Obesity as a Disease." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 June 2013. Web. 10 Aug. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/ business/ama-recognizes-obesity-as-a-disease.html>. Schlosser, Eric. "Fast Food Nation: The True Cost of America’s Diet." McSpolight. N.p., 3 Sept. 1998. Web. 09 Aug. 2014. <http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/rollingstone1
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"Why Is a Healthy Weight Important?" NHLBI.NIH.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/index.htm>.

Cited: "Adult Obesity Facts." CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 09 July 2014. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/ adult.html>. "Be Physically Active." NHLBI.NIH.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http: //www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/physical.htm>. "Genetics of Obesity and the Prediction of Risk for Health." Oxford Journals.org. Human Molecular Genetics Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/15 suppl_2/R124.full>. Kahan, M.D. Scott. "Why Obesity Is a Disease." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost, 19 May 2011. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-kahan-md/obesity-disease_b_861087.html>. Kolbert, Elizabeth. "XXXL - The New Yorker." New Yorker. N.p., 20 July 2009. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/20/xxxl>. Muntel, Sarah. "Fast Food – Is It the Enemy?" Obesity Action Coalition. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Aug. 2014. <http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/nutrition/fast-food-is-it-the-enemy>. "Obesity." America 's Health Rankings.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2014. <http://www. "Obesity: Is It a Disease?" Obesity ProCon.org. N.p., 3 June 2014. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://obesity.procon.org/>. Polis, Carey. "Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Aug. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/eating-healthy-vs-unhealthy_n_4383633.html>. Pollack, Andrew. "A.M.A. Recognizes Obesity as a Disease." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 June 2013. Web. 10 Aug. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/ business/ama-recognizes-obesity-as-a-disease.html>. Schlosser, Eric. "Fast Food Nation: The True Cost of America’s Diet." McSpolight. N.p., 3 Sept. 1998. Web. 09 Aug. 2014. <http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/rollingstone1 .html>. Smith, Melinda, Maya W. Paul, and Lawrence Robertson. "Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips." Help Guide.org. N.p., July 2014. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. <http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_weight_loss.htm>. "Why Is a Healthy Weight Important?" NHLBI.NIH.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/index.htm>.