AlexanderTorres

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ProfessorAltman
English113A
28September2015

ObesityinAmerica
ObesityisamajorprobleminAmerica.TheAmericancultureislookeduponthecountry
withburgers,hotdogs,andgreasyfood.ObesityisabigproblemintheU.Sbecauseoffastfood
restaurants,advertising,andlackofexercise.
Fastfoodplacesseemstobejustaroundthecornerfromourhouse.Wecandriveamile
awayfromourhomesandguaranteedtocomeacrossavarietyoffastfoodplaces.Inthepartof
townIliveinthereisatleast510fastfoodplaceswithinamileradiusofmyhome.Thereisn'ta
healthystorelikeWholeFoodsMarketoraFarmersMarketwhereyoucangetavastvarietyof
healthyfoodchoicesthatareorganic.Ihavetosayjunkfoodseemstobethequickandeasy
routeforAmerica.Americahasmadeiteasierforpeopletogettheirfoodfastforinstancethe
drivethrusectionwhichmostfastfoodplacesoffer.AccordingtothePewResearchCenter
thereabout160,000fastfoodrestaurantsinAmerica.ThenumberofAmericansthattheyserve
dailyis50million(PewResearchCenter).Withoutdoubtmostpeoplewouldprefertogetfast
foodinsteadofcookinganutritiousmealathome.InthearticleLeadingCausesofObesityin
AmericabyJolieHobbsitsays
Poornutritionisahugeprecursortoobesity.Ifyourbodyisn't
gettingthepropernutrientsthatitneeds,it'sgoingtobegintoslowdown,makingitevenharder
toloseweight..Thisstatementbysayingthatifpeoplekeephavingfoodwithpoornutrition

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eventuallyitwillcallcauseobesity.HobbsissaHobbsisalsosayingthatifpooreatinghabits
aren'tchangedthenitwillonlygettoughertoloseweight.Fastfoodwillonlymakeittougher
forpersontoloseweightifyourdietconsistofit.InthearticleBeingFatisOkaybyPaul
Camposhementionsastatisticof61percentofAmericansbeingbeingoverweightaccordingto
thegovernment(1).That'smorethanhalfthepopulationofAmericathatisconsidered
overweight.TobeconsideredhealthyunderthegovernmentregulationsyoumusthaveaBMI
(BodyMassIndex)lessthan25.
Fastfoodadvertisingcatchesourattentionwithcommercials,billboards,ornewspaper.
Howevertheyallhavethegoaltogetustoconsumetheproductthatguaranteesusonlyastep
closertoobesity.Weoftennoticehowthepictureoftheburgerbeingdisplayedoutsideonthe
windowofafastfoodplacelooksbetterthantheonethatweorder.Ifwelookcloselyitsaysthe
pictureswereenlargedtoshowthetextureoftheburger,whichisatechniquetomakeuswantto
buyit.CommercialslikeSubwayuseathletestomakeitcrediblethatit'shealthytoeatSubway
becausetheyreeatingit.Inrealitymostpeoplearen'tathleteswhoburnthemajorityoftheir
caloriesdaily.Anotherformofadvertisingisthroughcoupons.Fastfoodplacesmailtheirdeals
toustomakeussavemoney.Thesavingmoneypartthenleadstoexcessivefoodthatwedon't
needbutgetanywaysbecauseit'smorefoodatalowerprice.Evensugarycerealbrandswhich
getustobuymoretocollectallthetoys.Advertisingcancomeinmanyformswhetheritbe
couponsortoys.McDonald'susesthemethodofgivingatoywithahappymealtomake
childrenwanttokeepgoingback.IntodaysattentionseekingstrategyMcDonald'susestheir

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playplacewherechildrenoftenrushtowardsoncearrivingtoMcDonalds.InthearticleYour
TrustedFriendsbyEricScholssermentionsTWENTYFIVEYEARSAGO,onlyahandfulof
AmericancompaniesdirectedtheirmarketingatchildrenDisney,McDonald's,candymakers,
toymakers,manufacturersofbreakfastcereal..Thisstatementsaysthatalladvertisingfrom
DisneytoMcdonaldsandtoymakersusedchildrenastheirmainpriorityinmarketing(4).
Scholsseralsomentionedthatitwasn'tuntilthe1980swhichwasancalledthedecadeofthe
childconsumer.Thereasonbehinditbeingcalledthatwasbecausethemajorityofadvertising
wasallbeingdirectedtowardschildrentogettheirparentstoconsumemoreoften.Thearticle
Don'tBlametheEaterbyDavidZinczenkostatesAswiththetobaccoindustry,itmaybe
onlyamatteroftimebeforestategovernmentsbegintoseeadirectlinebetweenthe$1billion
thatMcDonald'sandBurgerKingspendeachyearonadvertisingandtheirownswellinghealth
carecosts..McDonald'sandBurgerKingspend$1billiondollarsonadvertisingayear(1).Its
unbelievablethatbothoftheseplacesactuallyputthatamountofmoneytowardsjustgettingthe
attentionofpeople.Bothoftheseplacesexpensesonadvertisinghaspaidoffwiththeirsales.
LackofexerciseseemstobeafactorinAmerica'sobesityproblem.Inthearticle
Obesity:We'renotovereating,we'reunderexercising,studysuggestsbyDeborahNetburnit
mentions
Themoststartlingfindinginthestudyisthedropintheamountofexercise
Americansdoinourfreetime.Theresearchersfoundthatfrom1988to2010,thepercentageof
adultswhoreporteddoingnoexerciseintheirfreetimegrewdramaticallyfrom19%to52%in
women,andfrom11%to43%inmen.
.Thisinformationaloneshowshowmuchexercisehas
drasticallybecomelessimportantsincetheyearof1988(1).Thenumbershavechangedforboth

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maleandfemaleinalittleoverdoubletheamountoftheolderpercentage.Menandwomanhave
bothgaveuptheimportanceofexercingduringtheirsparetime.AnotherarticleAmericanslag
onexerciseby
PatrickJ.Skerret
tindicates
ThelatestsnapshotofAmericansexercisehabitsis
notaprettypicture.Only18%ofusmeettheweeklyrecommendationsforcardiovascularand
musclestrengtheningactivity.Thatmeansfiveofeverysixofusdontmeasureup..Sadlyonly
18percentofAmericanswearedisciplinedenoughtomeasureeatinghabitsweekly(1).The
other82percentisneedoffindingaroutineandfindingtimetoexercise.Aswellasmaking
healthymealchoices.ThearticleTheLackofPhysicalActivityinAmericamentionsthatAs
measuredbyaccelerometers,only3.5percentofouradultpopulationattainstheactivity
equivalentofslowwalkingforjust30minutesadaymostdaysoftheweek.
.
Themajorityof
Americansarefounddoingnophysicalactivitiesonadailybasis(1).Only3.5percentofthe
adultpopulationisfounddoingsomesortofexerciseactivitythroughouttheweek.
Toconclude,Americasfoundtobeoneofthemostobesecountryintheworld.Ifno
changeoccursthiscanbeseenasaneverendingproblem.Thereasonbehindobesitywouldbe
duefastfoodrestaurants,advertising,andlackofexercise.

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Citations
Campos,Paul."BeingFatIsOK."
JewishWorldReview
.N.p.,23Apr.2001.Web.21Sept.
2015.
Hobbs,Jolie."LeadingCausesofObesityinAmerica."
Livestrong
.N.p.,08Mar.2015.Web.21
Sept.2015.
"TheLackofPhysicalActivityinAmerica."N.p.,n.d.Web.
NETBURN,DEBORAH."Obesity:We'reNotOvereating,We'reUnderexercising,Study
Suggests."N.p.,08July2014.Web.21Sept.2015.
PewResearchCenter."FastFoodStatistics."
StatisticBrainResearchInstitute
.N.p.,12Mar.
2015.Web.21Sept.2015.
Scholsser,Eric."YourTrustedFriends."(n.d.):110.Web.21Sept.2015.
Skerrett,PatrickJ."AmericansLagonExercise."HarvardHealth,06Oct.2010.Web.21Sept.
2015.
Zinczenko,David."DontBlametheEater."(n.d.):1.Web.21Sept.2015.