Obesity Research Paper

Is Your Favorite Restaurant Is Killing You? Did you know that the United States has more obese people than any other country in the world? In fact about 30% of all American adults are obese. But why are so many American’s obese? Who is to blame? Is it the American people or the Fast Food Restaurants? And what can be done to end this atrocious cycle of corpulence? First off we need to know what obesity is and how it is caused; obesity is the direct result of ingesting too much energy in the form of food and expending too little energy in the form of physical activity. Obesity is also a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health. Being overweight is different than being obese and being obese is different than being morbidly obese, a person is considered overweight when their body mass index is of 25 or more, which is typically being 20-30 pounds more than normal weight. Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. On the other hand a person is considered obese when their body mass index is of 30 or more, which is typically being 30-50 pounds more than normal weight. Morbid obesity is when a person has a body mass index of 40 or more, which is typically being 50-100 pounds more than normal weight. Now that we know what obesity is, it is time for us to find out what causes obesity and who is to blame.

For many people the cause of obesity boils down to eating too much food and exercising too little, but there are other factors that also play a role in obesity. Age is a factor that plays a role in obesity because as you get older your body’s ability to metabolize food slows down and you do not require as many calories to maintain your weight. Gender is another factor that plays a role in obesity. Women tend to be more overweight than men and this is partly because men tend to have a higher resting metabolic rate than women, meaning they burn more energy when they are resting. Because men have a higher resting metabolic rate than women, they are required to consume more calories in their diet to maintain their body weight. Also when women become postmenopausal, their metabolic rate decreases and that is partly why many women gain weight after menopause. Genetics may also be another contributor to obesity because obesity as well as thinness tends to run in families. In fact if your biological mother was heavy as an adult there is a 75% chance of you being heavy, and if your biological mother was thin as an adult then this is a 75% chance of you being thin as well. Although genes are an important factor in many cases of obesity, a person’s physical activity plays a significant role. Active individuals require more calories than less active ones to maintain their weight. Additionally, physical activity tends to decrease the appetite in obese individuals and increases the body’s ability to metabolize fat as an energy source. Much of the increase in obesity in the last 20 years is thought to have resulted from the decrease level of daily physical activity. Psychological factors can also influence eating habits and obesity. Many people eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness, or anger. People who have difficulty with weight management may also be facing emotional and psychological issues; actually about 30% of people who seek treatment for serious weight problems have difficulties with binge eating.

With that said is it the Fast Food Companies that are responsible for America’s corpulence, or is it the responsibility of the American people to maintain their own weight? Statistics have proved that is it the Fast Food Companies that are generally responsible for making America the country with the most obese people. The answer is simple fast food causes obesity; while it is certainly not the only cause, in conjunction with other factors fast food restaurants are a big part of the obesity problem. In fact the frequency in which individuals visits fast food restaurants is directly correlated with their weight. According to a 15-year study of 3,000 adults, people who visited fast food restaurants more than twice per week gained roughly 9-11 pounds more than people who visited them less than once per week. The reason behind the weight gain is that fast food is less healthy than other food. Fast Food causes obesity for four major reasons, one being the ingredients use in the food, two being the portion size of the food, three being the cost of the food and four being the convenience of the food. There are many types of fast food restaurants such as burger joints, pizza parlors, taco stands and chicken places but despite their unique menus, the underlying context of their food is the same. Most fast food ingredients contain more energy, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates and added sugars than healthier food of the same weight. As a result of these less healthy ingredients, eating fast food has been found to be directly associated with being overweight and exceeding the normal levels of fat and sugar.

In addition, most fast foods contain fewer vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and calcium. Numerous studies have shown that eating healthier foods that contain more of these vitamins and minerals make people feel full on less food, leading to more effective weight management. Also most fast food menu items contain a high amount of sugar, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup. There is some evidence that is emerging that suggest sugar could be the true cause of the obesity epidemic and many other obesity-related health problems. One of the major problems of the ingredients in fast food is the portion size. Research has proven that when given larger portion sizes, the average person will still eat their entire meal regardless of whether or not they feel full. Researchers have also found that a 2,000-calorie diet of junk food cost 10 times less than a 2,000-calorie diet of healthy food, with that being said low cost plays a significant role in obesity. This low cost of food typically turns out to be fast food and it encourages people to choose unhealthier cheap food over more expensive healthier food. Fast Food is cheap, convenient and promoted highly in urban communities and that is one of the major reasons why lower-income families are more likely to be obese than wealthier families. This problem is only getting worse because researchers also found that healthier foods are more likely to increase in cost over time. During a 2-year study, the cost of healthy food went up by 19.5% while the cost of unhealthy food dropped by 1.8%.

Over the past 30 years fast food chains have seen dramatic increases in sales, as Americans have come to rely more heavily on meals purchased outside of the home. On average, families in the United States spend one-half of their food budgets on prepared and restaurant food. Children make up a large percentage of the fast food market, and about one in three children eats fast food on a typical day. Portion sizes at fast food chains are increasing and are now often two to five times larger than their original size. Fast Food companies target children because they know that children will eventually become lifetime customers. The average distance between any school and the nearest fast food restaurant was found to be 600 meters, a distance that can be easily walked in about 7.5 minutes. Thirty-five percent of schools have at least one fast food restaurant within 400 meters, which is accumulated to a five-minute walk, and eighty percent of schools have at least one fast food restaurant within 800 meters, a ten minute walk. It is hard for one to ignore that the results of this report suggest that fast food companies are intentionally placing their restaurants within walking distance of schools. The effects of the unhealthy food on children’s health are disastrous that is why the marketing tactics used by the fast food companies are under concern. Fast Food Companies should be held accountable for the rising numbers of obese citizens because they are causing these people to become obese and they are profiting off of them. Revenues in the fast food industry are now in the hundreds of millions so they are getting much wealthier as the consumers are getting much heavier. These companies have enough money to start health clubs, fitness centers and other places where healthy lifestyles are being praised, but instead they market to adolescent children hoping to entice them into unhealthy food choices.

Now that we know that fast food companies are causing the high rates of obesity in America, what can we do to turn things around so that we decrease the number of obese people in the United States? First off we need for everyone to know that obesity is 100% preventable regardless any of the factors mentioned earlier. Staying active, watching your weight and eating healthy foods will guarantee a long lifespan and a life without obesity. Exercising is an activity that everyone should take part in because it is an important step to preventing obesity and it encourages a healthier lifestyle. Eating healthy foods is another choice that everyone should make because they are much better for you than junk food and your body benefits greatly from them. Consuming the right amount of food per day is another vital way of preventing corpulence. The Food and Drug Administration advises that a person must consume about 2,000 calories each day. Also to avoid obesity, your daily calorie intake must not exceed the number of calories expended. So that means if you are not an active person then you need to reduce the number of calories you intake to ensure your weight does not pile up. By following these simple rules we can decrease the number of obese people in American and improve the lifespan of our future generation.

Sources

Childhood Obesity By N. Cameron, N.G. Norgan & G.T.H. Ellison
The Cure For Obesity: My Life’s Journey By Jeffrey Weiser, D.D.S.
Diabesity By Francine R. Kaufman, M.D.
The World Health Organization www.who.int/
Time Magazine: Article By Bryan Walsh on June 12, 2008