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Laura Koch
Mrs. Tillery
AP Literature
11 November 2011
American Obesity
According to research findings from all major news websites, statistics show that
about one-third of United States’ adults are obese (33.8%) and approximately 17% (or
12.5 million) of children and adolescents ranging from the ages two to nineteen years are
also obese ("Overweight and Obesity"). That means the United States has more people
that are unhealthy than healthy. Americans are proven to have the worst health out of any
other country in the world and over the last two decades, the number rates are growing
rapidly. By the time of 2010, there was not one state in the nation that had an obesity rate
that was less than 20 %. In addition, the state of Georgia has an alarming rate of 29.6 %
rate of people who are facing this illness ("Overweight and Obesity"). There are several
components that people all over the world are unaware about that contribute to the severe
problem of obesity; one being the poor nourishment in many of the foods that individuals
consume every day. Another is the lack of exercise, physical activity, and the burning of
fat. Many of these situations are concentrated in certain regions, the highest being in the
South and Appalachia, and the least being in the Northeast and West. With the absence of
education and direction needed to improve health and physical fitness in Americans,
people are unaware of this very issue. Obesity is in fact a disease that is causing
thousands to hundreds to not live a life to its full potential. The illness of obesity and
being overweight are both titles for when a person’s weight exceeds its requirement in

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terms of height. Then they are considered out of shape and unhealthy. The terms also
identify ranges of weight that have been shown to increase the likelihood of certain
diseases and other health problems.
What causes a person to be obese and overweight? There is one simple equation
that helps doctors, scientists, and people to understand the level that a person is
considered to fall under, and that is by the Caloric Balance Equation. When determining
health, there are three factors to observe. Energy balance and making sure that people
burn more calories than they eat. Body weight is also considered to be the result of genes,
metabolism, behavior, environment, culture, and socioeconomic status. Whether people
like to stay balanced or not, calories do in fact count. A calorie is used to measure the
amount of energy provided in food. Calories can be found in every type of food, from
fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and sugar. The only difficulty that one faces is just making
sure that a reasonable amount of food enters the body ("Causes and Consequences"). Two
key factors that also help to determine obesity are environment and behavior.
Considering all the aspects that can cause health problems, they can either help to prevent
obesity or drive a person toward the illness.
Throughout a long history of raising children and making families, people have
acquired bad eating and exercise habits. The arrogance among Americans needs to be
dealt with because there are an abundance of solutions that are right in arms reach.
The environment where one spends the majority of their time is one leading cause of
obesity. Where did this person grow up? What type of food do they have around the
house? Do they spend a lot time sitting down and not being active? These are major
questions that need to be asked in every situation. Communities, households, workplaces,

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and schools are areas that affect the everyday person. If someone lives in an area where
there are no sidewalks and only major roads, then it is hard to get anywhere on bikes or
by foot. Another major contribution to obesity is the household, which is where a large
portion of time is spent ("Causes and Consequences"). Likewise, children tend to follow
in the footsteps of their parents because that is who they are being taught and raised by.
Many young children that grow up already participating in these bad habits are more
susceptible to food temptation and bad habits ("Children’s Food Environment").
Therefore, learning the right way to eat and exercise at a young age is crucial to every
single person’s future.
Furthermore, one of the core focuses of health is undeniably in the hands of the
food and drinks that Americans consume frequently. Food is vital to the human body and
is what makes people operate and function. Similar to how cars depend on gas to run,
people depend on food and water to survive. Food is what makes a huge contribution to
how people feel, act, and what their mood exhibits. This is why healthy foods and drinks
are crucial in making the body feel strong and durable. Nutrition and diet are two of the
most important supplements to staying away from obesity in order to stay thriving full of
energy. Some people use the word diet as a threatening word that takes control and
consumes people with an idea of what they might look like after eating only a little and
getting huge results, this is in fact false. A diet is the food and drink considered in terms
of its qualities, composition, and its effects on the human health ("Foods and Food"). A
diet is something that should not be a selection or limitation on the amount a person eats
to lose weight, but make them healthier by eating the right foods. People have the
misconception that certain foods and drinks are healthy, when actually they are hurting

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the body greatly. An individual’s diet should consist of mostly vegetables, fruits, natural
proteins, and a plentiful amount of water ("State Indicator Report"). With this said, there
are a tremendous amount of foods and beverages in the world that should be avoided.
Sugar drinks are the largest source of added sugar and an important contributor of
calories in the diets of children in the United States ("Children’s Food Environment").
Ensuring that people are drinking large amounts of water every day and limiting access to
sugar drinks are ways to improve cravings and reduce lack of energy. Because human
appetite and adequateness depend more on the volume of food consumed than on caloric
content of the food, reducing the consumption of energy dense, low nutrient foods has
been distinguished as a strategy to prevent weight gain ("Children’s Food Environment").
Perseverance and acting immediately to stop the food misconception will lower obesity
rates tremendously.
Additionally, one of the leading reasons that Americans submit to non-nutritious
food is because of the amount of advertisement and broadcasting that restaurants and fast
food places display in all major areas. At every street corner and block, there is a
McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Cheesecake Factory, or chain polluting American
health. These are just a few of the big corporation food businesses that are serving high
calorie meals to every person that walks in the door ("State Indicator Report"). This is
extremely unbeneficial to solving the obesity problem because most of the foods served
in the restaurants are not fresh and are processed with chemicals to make the food have
that extra savor. Making the food taste good involves adding extra sugar, salt, and other
harmful ingredients. The average American eats out of the house about 30% of the time.

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Also, there are laws which states that a certain amount of the food has to be produced
with certain chemicals that make the foods and drinks have a stronger taste. These foods
are only getting worse and nutritional foods are being produced with more and more
harmful chemicals that are hurting the body in many different ways. Big corporations set
these standards in order to make more money, and sell the American people unhealthy
substances that end up only pushing obesity rates further. This is a shocking setback to
improving obesity. Americans and corporations both need to take action and realize that
eating healthy will make us live longer, not money.
Equally important, exercise is a solution that can solve obesity and also help limit
the amount of people facing it in America. Many people make the excuse that they
simply do not have time to be active and sweat, but if that is the case, they need to make
time in order to protect themselves. There are hundreds of different techniques that are
created to help any and every person. Many people feel that if they are not motivated to
work out and do not have a support system, it is impossible to complete a full exercise. If
this is so, group classes at gyms and recreation centers are provided. Classes help to
motivate and join people together to strengthen their body and lead them towards a
healthier life. There is an assortment of classes that are available to the public, all of
which have proven to help the body stay strong and energized. At various gyms, classes
such as TRX, Ripped, Body Sculpt, boot camps, and many more, pinpoint areas a person
needs to improve and strengthen. These classes can be diverse, some specializing in
dance, and others satisfying more of the strength training. The different exercise
techniques that trainers put into strengthening the body are created to personal heighten
the health of an individual. A lot of time and effort goes into the creation of specific

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moves, each one serving a different function. To help move America in the right
direction, many states are enacting acts to help get Americans active outdoors. This can
be through natural play; outdoor recreation centers such as camping, hiking, hunting and
fishing; public health initiatives; outdoor learning environments; service learning and
other initiatives ("Healthy Kids Outdoor"). Children and adults spend more of their time
inside than they do outside, watching television or playing and working on the computer.
Leisure time is at its highest rate in the current generation. Americans are paying a hefty
price for their high amount of leisure time with not only their own quality of life, but also
in the fact that they are creating an economic strain in healthcare costs. With the steady
incline of obesity rates, a study from the National Center for Disease Control determined
that the percentage of adults ages 20 years and over who are overweight or obese were at
67 percent. This epidemic also showed that the lack of physical fitness leading to obesity
was affecting not only the adults, but their children as well. Adolescents from the ages
12-19 were 18 percent, children ages 6-11 were 15 percent and children ages 2-5 had an
overweight or obese percentage of 11 percent. ("Physical Fitness In America"). With all
the new studies and curiosity in physical fitness and education, people have found that
exercise has proven to increase emotional and physical stability. Physical activity releases
stress form the body and allows the brain to think more clearly and focus on learning,
which helps them to understand more about why they should eat healthier foods, exercise
more, and influence others.
Consequently, in order to live a healthy lifestyle, one must keep a balanced and
orderly diet, exercise often, and educate oneself about what is in the foods that people eat,
and what the ingredients are. Obesity now affects 17% of all children and adolescents in

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the United States - triple the rate from just one get generation ago. Obesity and
overweight is a problem that is affecting the world, but is having a harsher impact on
America. From the problems that obesity causes, there are countless ways to solve it,
such as the right foods, exercise, and giving people the knowledge of obesity and what
people can do to rid of it. Nutritional changes may be hard to grasp at first but will
definitely make an impact on healthy decisions. Adding nutritional foods such as fruits
and vegetables to the American diet, and exercising constantly will help give people the
required nutrients, and activity their body needs to function properly.

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Works Cited
“About Healthy People .” HealthyPeople.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.healthypeople.gov/
2020/default.aspx>.
“Causes and Consequences.” Overweight and Obesity. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 16 May 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/
obesity/causes/index.html>.
“Children’s Food Environment State Indicator Report, 2011.” Childhood Overweight
and Obesity. Department of Health and Human Services, 12 Oct. 2011. Web.
30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/
ChildrensFoodEnvironment.pdf>.
“Foods and Food Components to Reduce.” Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.
Center for Nutrion Policy and Promotion, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/
PolicyDoc/Chapter3.pdf>.
“Health Introduction .” Nutrition Resources for Health Professionals. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 4 Oct. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/professionals/index.html>.
“Healthy Kids Outdoor Act Introduced in Congress.” Current News on Physical
Activity. National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, 4 Nov. 2011. Web.
12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ncppa.org/home/news/69/>.

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“Overweight and Obesity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention , 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html>.
“Physical Fitness In America.” Physical Fitness In America. Physical Fitness.com,
2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.physicalfitness.com/in-america/>.
“State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 .” Fruit and Vegetable
Benefits. Department of Health and Human Services, 28 Oct. 2011. Web. 30
Oct. 2011. <http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/health_professionals/
statereport.html#Policy>.
“Strategies and Solutions .” Overweight and Obesity. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention , 21 Apr. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/
childhood/solutions.html>.