Obesity And The Mcproblem

9 Pages 2263 Words

Obesity and the McProblem
Recent studies have indicated that 64.5% of Americans are overweight, and 30.9% are obese. Studies also show that unhealthy dietary habits and a sedentary lifestyle together account for an estimated 300,000 deaths annually in the United States. This makes obesity only second to smoking when it comes to preventable causes of death (3). America is quickly growing into the most unhealthy country in the world. What is truly contributing to this obesity epidemic? With the rise in power of the fast food industry, we see a link to obesity. The prevalence of the fast food establishment has contributed to the rise of obesity rates in the United States, and with this rise America has named obesity an outright epidemic and have begun to implement programs to counter this new disease.
The Complete Home Medical Guide defines obesity as “A condition in which there is an accumulation of excess body fat.” They also state that obesity occurs when food taken into the body provides more energy than you use. The main causes are overeating and a sedentary lifestyle (1). We can conclude from this information that obesity is a self inflicted disease. But how is society contributing to this over-weight epidemic? And what harm is it doing? There has been a startling increase our nation’s percentage of obese people jumping 106% since 1976 (3). One conclusion can be attributed to the rise in fast food establishments in the U.S. According to the movie, Super Size Me it is estimated that one in every four people in the United States eats at a fast food restaurant every day (7). These people are eating food that most of us know is bad for us. This is probably why we see such an increase in America’s waistline.
How much do eating habits contribute to obesity? “It has been speculated that the rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity may, in part, be attributable to the number of meals and snacks eaten away from hom...