Obesity
Susan M
Obesity: Is it a choice? The topic of obesity within the United States, let alone the world, has been a dispute for years. In the United States it has been debated in many levels from controlling what foods restaurants can serve to initiatives within the government driven by presidents, presidential candidates, and even first ladies. There is an overwhelming statement that something needs to be done, but the problem is not what, but how. Many debate that obesity is not an effect of choice but due of genetic make-up. Other’s say that many people do not even get to have a choice and are ultimately doomed to having nothing to eat but processed fatty foods and being overweight. The essays, Can’t Blame the Eater, by David Zinczenko, and Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis, by Wil Haygood, both illustrate how people, from adolescent to middle-aged adult, have no option but to eat unhealthily due to the overbearing presence of fast-food restaurants. Instead of blaming the individuals for making unhealthy choices in their diet, they blame the businesses that only provide the food. The rates of obesity in the United States have caused concern for many people and many organizations. First Lady Michelle Obama founded an organization that specifically targets obesity rates in children by promoting activities to keep them physically active (cite letsmove.org). The New York Times wrote an article about studies by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that over the past decade obesity rates among children 2- to 5- years old have dropped 43% (cite New York Times). Although this has been claimed as a huge success in targeting obesity at a young age, other studies show that obesity is still rising. Many studies have been done to see changing rates of childhood obesity to adult obesity. An article put out by the CDC states that “childhood
Obesity: Is it a choice? The topic of obesity within the United States, let alone the world, has been a dispute for years. In the United States it has been debated in many levels from controlling what foods restaurants can serve to initiatives within the government driven by presidents, presidential candidates, and even first ladies. There is an overwhelming statement that something needs to be done, but the problem is not what, but how. Many debate that obesity is not an effect of choice but due of genetic make-up. Other’s say that many people do not even get to have a choice and are ultimately doomed to having nothing to eat but processed fatty foods and being overweight. The essays, Can’t Blame the Eater, by David Zinczenko, and Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis, by Wil Haygood, both illustrate how people, from adolescent to middle-aged adult, have no option but to eat unhealthily due to the overbearing presence of fast-food restaurants. Instead of blaming the individuals for making unhealthy choices in their diet, they blame the businesses that only provide the food. The rates of obesity in the United States have caused concern for many people and many organizations. First Lady Michelle Obama founded an organization that specifically targets obesity rates in children by promoting activities to keep them physically active (cite letsmove.org). The New York Times wrote an article about studies by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that over the past decade obesity rates among children 2- to 5- years old have dropped 43% (cite New York Times). Although this has been claimed as a huge success in targeting obesity at a young age, other studies show that obesity is still rising. Many studies have been done to see changing rates of childhood obesity to adult obesity. An article put out by the CDC states that “childhood