Course Project Week 7 Essay

To start, we Americans are living unhealthy lifestyles. We are becoming too lazy, like the Romans relying too much on their slaves. We also eat too much junk food and not enough healthy foods like fruits, and vegetables. Studies have shown that about 40% of women in the U.S. are overweight, and most teens are starting to become obese. Today, almost everyone is always watching T.V. or YouTube, and are barely exercising.

As we look into John’s – a 45 year old, 5’ 10”, 255lb male - dietary intake we see he has a classic southern American diet, where convenience foods, fried, loaded with starches, processed carbohydrates and lack vital nutrients. John finds himself eating out at fast food restaurants and loading up on cola drinks, which many people find themselves doing on a daily basis. Assuming he has a desk job that requires a lot of his attention throughout the day, John has little time to get in daily exercise and is required to hold attention for long periods of time. This is what is called a sedentary lifestyle and can lead to a number of health related illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. John complains of feeling lethargic by lunch time and often tries to remedy this by drinking more caffeinated drinks to help with his tiredness, he also is unhappy with his current weight.

The weight in America is ballooning out of control and the American public needs help. There are a number of contributing factors that tie into the growing waistline of America such as a sedimentary lifestyle, over consumption of food which leads to a higher caloric intake, and the marketing of unhealthy choices by food companies through television ads and radio station commercials. In regards to the over consumption of food, the only person that is truly affected by this is the individual themselves. After all, they are the ones that will suffer from the chronic health conditions such as respiratory related issues due to shortness of breath, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. All of our lives we have been told we are what we eat. If you consume food with little or nutritional value it will definitely show in your body and if you consume foods that contribute substantial vitamins, mineral, and proteins to the body that to, will also show. Food companies do have a right to market what is most profitable, it just so happen that what is profitable is inexpensive to make and detrimental to one’s health if consumed on a daily basis. However, millions of Americans have tried to get there weight under control on their own and many have been successful at it. According to numerous new reports, the Diet industry gross approximately 60 billion dollars a year but only a few million have shown long lasting results.

In the last few years, there have been tremendous concerns about the unhealthy weight levels of Americans. Early on, many of these programs focused on teaching everyone how to become more active. However, the scales have continued to show that most people are becoming fatter from their poor diet and exercise. This has caused many individuals to be seen as someone who lacks control and discipline. Evidence of this can be seen with recent studies which are showing that 35.7% of Americans are considered to be obese (according to the CDC). ("Adult Obesity Facts," 2012)

Over 40 years ago, John F. Kennedy predicted today’s society in America. Kennedy states that Americans were pathetically out of shape in the 1950s compared to Europeans. I believe that in today’s society technology has advanced at a high rate ultimately making American citizen’s more sedentary.

I know as a nation, we have tried to promote more exercise and physical activity in the past few years. Yet, our efforts are still not enough, a vast portion of the population is either obese or overweight. A study in 2002 stated, “The most recent data, obtained in 1999, found that fully 61% of adult Americans were either overweight (34%) or obese (27%; National Center for Health Statistics, 1999)”[4]. These numbers have greatly increased since the early 2000s. Obesity is associated with more health complications, America being an overweight population, we are forced to spend a tremendous about of money to give these medications and therapy for these health complications. Some of the health problems that can arise from being obese include, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and of course diabetes. Everyone has heard of diabetes, also called insulin

solution that people go for is to eliminate junk food. Eliminating junk food will not work

Two of these chronic diseases-heart disease and cancer-together accounted for nearly 48% of all deaths." According to the CDC (2015), the costs associated with these diseases are as follows: "heart disease and stroke in 2010 were estimated to be $315.4 billion. Of this amount, $193.4 billion was for direct medical costs, not including costs of nursing home care." Billions of dollars spent on care that could have possibly been prevented. The solution is so simple, yet we like to look outwards for answers; such as policy and laws. The fix is fixing ourselves, it's time to wake up America. Furthermore, the CDC (2015) reports that “In 2011, more than half (52%) of adults aged 18 years or older did not meet recommendations for aerobic exercise or physical activity. In addition, 76% did not meet recommendations for muscle-strengthening physical activity.” Something is fundamentally wrong here. A lot of these diseases are preventable. It's as easy as doing a little bit of physical exercise, eating your leafy greens, including your healthy servings of fiber and fruits. Just like grand ma' ma' used to say, “eat your spinach or else you get the hose again.” Ok, maybe she never really said that, but a little bit of humor never

Statistics recorded from the Center of Disease and Control (2013) says, “35.7% and over of Americans are obese”. The most palpable of many reasons for the obtaining of fattening are mainly from horrendous eating habits as well as the lack of physical activity. The dilemma is due to the path taken by the American culture. America is still in recession and as they sustain this issue, many Americans have relied on welfare and have lost hope, in which, this problem has caused them not to be as active at home. Another flaw in the American culture that causes laziness would be electronics. When TV, social media, and the internet in general comes into play, a sense of comfort is created making them less interested in physical exercise. Even healthy foods like organic products are sold expensively in America. Most Americans cannot afford the luxury of purchasing organic products for the fact that it is too expensive

Americans are dying. Studies have shown that 1 in 5 deaths in the United States of America has been linked with obesity (Mercola, 2013). We need to act now and change something or all the generations after us will suffer the consequences. It was our choice as a country to get this big and now it should be our choice to reverse that decision and alter our future for the better. At the rate we are going, our longevity rates are going to plummet and we will be lucky to live past the age of 50. This epidemic has gone on for way too long now, and it needs to come to an end. In the past, we did not have this problem because it was just common sense that diet and exercise were fundamental for surviving. Eating unhealthily back then was not an option or luxury that most people had. Before the 1980s, people lead more active lifestyles and ate more natural things. Today, people tend to live a more sedentary lifestyle and do not think about what they are eating before they consume it.

Proposed solutions include integrating physical activity into everyday life in every way, promoting marketing of what matters for a healthy life, promoting greater availability of healthy foods and beverages, enlisting employers and health care professionals in the fight against obesity, and strengthening schools as the "heart of health."(Michael L. Marlow 4) Although the plans seem simple and like common sense it can’t work without the entirety of society changing. Our examination of the obesity issue demonstrates that government intervention is often ineffective in dealing with individual failures, and in some cases is counterproductive. (Michael L. Marlow 5) This statement itself proves that we must work together to make this change, people follow trends that are popular so if they’re not part of the majority often times they will want to change to fit in with society's

Within the abstract Downes states that the majority of chronic diseases i.e. heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension etc. (which is the leading cause of death/disability in the United States due its nature of only being controlled rather than cured) can be prevented by lifestyle behaviors. Formulating the research through the exploration of “physical activity,” “dietary habits,” and lastly, “weight status related to motivators and barriers of healthy lifestyle choices” of 106 college students. Downes introduces the issue that the majority of the American population does not heed the recommended physical activity and dietary habits in order to maintain optimum health and in turn causes such chronic diseases to develop overtime

Due to today’s increased societal demands, a person's increasingly busier schedules mixed with the convenient but non-healthy food choices to accommodate this shift in culture, American's general physical well-being is on the decline. As the populace grows older, the body needs better maintenance to enjoy a high quality of existence later in life. Unfortunately, poor habits are causing problems much earlier on that could have been avoided simply with knowledge and self-discipline. Even if it can be a more difficult path, taking responsibility for one’s own health through regular exercise and proper nutrition should be a priority of all able-bodied individuals to avoid future issues for themselves.

Over the years, people have become more reliant on the things that we do instead of taking of our body. We have moved away from taking care of bodies to just laying around and watching television. Obesity is a complex problem, which is taking away the health of people, all ages. We are spending more time ingesting unhealthy foods, not enough time exercising, and spending an over abundant time in front of a television or electronic device. To control obesity, you can take the stand, and make a healthier lifestyle for

The obesity rate in the United States is sky-high. Two out of three children are either overweight or obese. Immense use of junk food and soda compounded with the lack of exercise lead the American kids to this dire stage. Because obesity can lead to heart problems and early onset of diabetes, the impacts of this problem are severe if not disastrous. It also costs the US government several millions of dollars every year to provide health care for them. These implications justifies immediately finding remedies to what ails our future generations.