Introduction. Thesis statement
Over the past fifty years, the number of fat children who will become overweight adults has grown exponentially. Among all countries, the United States has the highest rate of obesity. “While many other countries have experienced significant increases in obesity, no other developed country is as heavy as the United States” (Cutler, Glaeser, and Shapiro 93).
The proclamation of adiposity as a national “obesity epidemic” is not an overstatement. The main reasons for being overweight are abundant portions, increased junk food, lack of sleep, and even air-conditioning. All of them are well-known but not deeply explored. Moreover, the latest research shows that not all of the above-listed factors provoke obesity. The increase of obesity in America turned into an epidemic because of abundant food consumption and physical inactivity, resulting in the growth of sick people over the past half-century.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is the fundamental measure of overweight. BMI is the ratio of weight in kilograms to height in square meters. “Optimal BMI levels are generally believed to lie between 20 and 25” (Cutler et. al 95). The person is considered thin if the BMI level is less than 20. The ratio between 25 and 30 shows an overweight. A BMI of 30 reveals obesity.
The reasons for rising obesity in America
Most agree that there are two main reasons for getting overweight: lack of physical activity and excessive consumption of food. The deficiency of energy balance causes fatness. Energy balance consists of absorbed and burned energy. The calories consumed transform into energy. The energy used for everyday life maintenance is burned energy. Elementary energy accounting explains the mechanism of getting overweight. The balance of calories consumed must be equal to or less than the energy used. There are three common ways of burning calories: metabolism, digesting, and physical activity. The basal metabolism consumes around 60 percent of the energy to keep the body alive. Digesting also requires some amount of energy for food processing. The third way of burning calories is physical activity. Here the first contradiction comes.
According to the latest researches, the average American exercises more than people used to do in the 60s, the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has grown due to the decrease in prices. But, “the prevalence of obesity has increased rapidly over the last decades” (Sturm and An 338). According to the above, the lifestyle and the diet became healthier, but still the “obesity epidemic” is growing. The explanation of this conflict gives the production industry. The usage of various chemicals impacts the rate of overweight. One of these chemicals is now known as an obesogen. The term obesogen was firstly implemented in 2005 by Dr. Bloomberg and applied to the different chemicals (Henig par. 7). The obesogens are working in three different ways depending on the particular body. Firstly, it changes the number of fat cells, or adipocytes, as well as a fat storage capacity. Secondly, it affects metabolism by decreasing the number of burned calories. And, thirdly, obesogen influences a feeling of fullness and hunger. Unfortunately, avoiding obesogens is almost impossible. The products of everyday life, such as shampoos, detergents, scented candles, are full of this chemical. Even leafy vegetables, which are among the healthiest food, are often treated with substances that can cause adiposity.
Chemicals become the components of the healthy food
In his researches, Dr. Bloomberg fed a mouse with a dose of chemical and found that its offsprings are with greater fat storage than the offsprings of a mouse with a ration without chemicals. Moreover, this pathology was observed even in the second and third generations of an obese mouse. Thus, the scientist made a conclusion “once it’s in the great-grandchildren, it’s permanent” (qt. in Henig par. 10). Obesogens are highly dangerous for the fast-growing body affecting both the fetus in the womb and the infants. If an insignificant dose of chemical leads to the genetic changes of descendants, obesity can be considered as genetic heredity. Notwithstanding, there is no officially confirmed evidence related to the people. “While a person may have a genetic predisposition toward a certain body type, the fact that each succeeding generation is heavier than the last proves that changes in our environment are playing the key role” (Griffin par. 7). An author explains that the way of modern life minimized the amount of physical activity but increased the amount of junk food in the human diet.
Besides primary causes of obesity, there are several minors. The impact of chemicals has been already discussed above. But there are other reasons, including an inactive lifestyle, a variety of fast-food restaurants, and an environment, which causes obesity. Modern conveniences along with comfort brought a problem of overweight. Instead of going to work on foot Americans use cars. The deficiency of physical education in schools resulted in the growth of a number of fat children. People, who consume many calories per day without doing any sports are more likely to have certain health problems than those who include activities in their everyday life. The reasons for an inactive lifestyle, besides the obvious personal habits, also include external obstacles. Thus, the lack of parks, sidewalks, and gyms complicates the possibility of doing activities.
Secondary causes of overweight
Another reason for growing obesity is an oversized portion. Americans got used to unlimited food consumption. In restaurants, fast food places, in the supermarkets, even at home people eat much more than needed for keeping optimal energy balance. Eventually, the overabundance of consumed calories together with physical inactivity causes significant weight gain. Even lack of sleep increases the risk of adiposity. Sleeping fewer hours than needed leads to hormonal metabolism. As a result, the level of hormone, which handles the feeling of hunger, ghrelin, decreases. Furthermore, the lack of sleep increases the sugar level in the blood causing sugar diabetes.
The next cause of obesity refers rather to the economic and geographic situation than to social. Food became more affordable, according to the analysis of senior economists from Illinois University. “Americans now have the cheapest food in history when measured as a fraction of disposable income. In the 1930s, Americans spent one-quarter of their disposable income on food, dropping to one-fifth in the 1950s” (Sturm and An 342). Indeed, it resulted in abundant consumption of both healthy and junk food. David M. Cutler with colleagues came to a similar conclusion related to time. “Reductions in the time cost of food preparation should lead to an increase in the amount of food consumed” (Cutler, Glaeser, and Shapiro 107). On the other hand, there are particular urban areas, “food deserts”, where people have no selection of healthy food. But they are still prone to obesity. It means that the availability of attractive fresh products does not relate to obesity. The consumption of junk food, instead of fresh fruits and vegetables, as it is recommended by nutritionists, not yet guarantees the obeseness.
The excessive intake of calories and lack of physical activity are the only causes of obesity. The same conclusion was made by Roland Sturn and Ruopeng An: “preventing obesity is not about eating more food, regardless of how many nutrients it provides, but consuming less energy or expending more” (343). Another misconception is the idea that low-fat food cannot cause obesity. As the Doctor of Medicine noticed, “people took the low-fat message and decided that it meant that as long as they ate things that were low-fat, they could eat as much as they wanted” (qt. in Griffin par. 14). Unfortunately, there is an essential shortcoming in this theory as it does not take into account the number of calories consumed. Some low-fat snacks, introduced as a dietary product, have more calories than their original equivalent.
Conclusions. Thesis restatement
In the 60s years of the twentieth century, an average American weighted 1.2 times less than now. The weight increase, which has been observed before, was considered as a health increase while now it is recognized as health reduction. Nowadays, the level of obesity is much higher than medical institutions determined and keeps rising. Due to changes in nutrition and the modern inactive lifestyle, the increase of obesity in America turned into an epidemic. The prevention of obesity is much easier than the follow-up treatment of disease caused by being overweight. Sometimes, only two changes in the lifestyle, a decrease of calories consumed together with some sports activities, are the clues to a happy and healthy life.
Works Cited
Cutler M., David, Glaeser L., Edward and Jesse M. Shapiro. “Why Have Americans Become More Obese?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17.3 (2003): 93-118. Print.
Griffin R., Morgan. n.d. Obesity Epidemic “Astronomical”. n.d. Web. 2015.
Henig, Robin 2013, What’s Making America So Fat? Web. 2015.
Sturm, Roland and Ruopeng An. “Obesity and Economic Environments”. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 64.5 (2014): 337-350. Print.