According to Natural New website, the number of obese Americans soared through the 1980-1990s. Today there are over 97 million documented obese people in America! Meaning 29 percent of Americans are currently fighting obesity! I believe there are many factors into why there are so many obese people living in America such as but not limiting to: desks jobs, use of electronics, and getting served much larger portions in restaurants. Speaking to locals in Staunton I noticed how vividly they remember going outside to play in the snow or sun and feeling like an actual child. Compared to my generation, not many of our stories include going outside or finding out that there is more than one kind of worm. Today it is all about video games, relaxing on the couch, or watching Netflix.
Since technology continues to upgrade there is always something new to buy and play with. There is no more just passing a ball around or seeing how far down the stream you can throw a rock. People now have a reason to stay inside and plant themselves on the couch, bed, or floor for hours. Americans tend to work desks jobs where the only time they walk is to warm up their lunch, drive home, grab some fast food for dinner, and sit on their butts watching television or play video games. There isn’t much more of working in the kitchen to provided healthy meals as much and there aren’t children playing outside. To get children and teens to go outside today they have to be bribed with money or making their video games a walking around activity.
American Red Cross did a study and by their calculations, the most obese group of people are stay at home moms. All day long they are caring for their children, so they should be losing weight by chasing them around, right? Wrong! Just because you are chasing little ones around doesn’t mean you will be losing weight. Counting in the stress of children, making sure your house is cleaned, finding time to grab something to eat, putting your children down for a nap, all your chores, and making dinner there isn’t much time to take care of yourself and keep that stress down. American Red Cross mentioned that there is a 50 percent increase in proportion size since the 1950s; which doesn’t include the supersized drink for another 300 calories.
The biggest gravitational pull to fast food restaurants hasn’t been the food is great, it’s the prices. How does it make sense that at McDonald's you can buy a drink, fries, sandwich, and dessert for under five dollars but one salad is seven dollars? I believe that there should be a fast food for healthy options. Add some cheaper salad, real fruit cup that aren’t in syrup, veggie cups, and chicken wraps that aren’t 500 calories a piece. If America wants to make a difference and get the number of obese people down, then they need to not only change the culture behind our everyday lives, but what is made available. Make a salad and small fruit smoothie five dollars and up the prices on unhealthy sandwiches and fries and maybe then America can make one more step to a healthier life!
"Understanding the American Obesity Epidemic." Understanding the American Obesity Epidemic. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
"When Did Obesity Become an Issue?" NaturalNews. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
