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Fat America Essay

Decent Essays

Fat America
American families now in days have become too busy to enjoy a nice hot meal together. Yet, thirty-five percent of U.S. adults and seventeen percent of teenagers are obese. As obesity increases in U.S. homes so have the effects of the disease on the American family(301).
According to MedicineNet.com obesity is defined by National Institutes of Health as a BMI (Body Max Index) of thirty and above. A BMI of fifty would be about fifty pounds overweight. BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI usually means high body fatness. Obesity is based on both genetic and behavioral factors. Although both these factors can play a huge role in obesity it is time for Americans to own up to the fact that we are making ourselves obese.
The Obesity Society states that, “obesity is one of the most pervasive, chronic diseases in need of new strategies for medical treatment and prevention. As a leading cause of United States mortality, morbidity, disability, healthcare utilization and healthcare costs, the high prevalence of obesity continues to strain the United States healthcare system.” If obesity is causing all the issues why are …show more content…

Parents are so focused on providing for the family that it has affected what agents of socialization are being introduce to their children. Now in days the biggest agent of socialization in a child’s life is multiple types of media. The American Psychological Association states that children of today ages ranging from eight to eighteen spend about forty-four and a half hours per week in front of some type of media. That does not help our youth at all what so ever. Spending that much time on some type of media means that those children are more than likely not exercising. Another factor to take in consideration is that fast food resturants are using the media to advertise unhealthy foods to

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