What caused the obeisty epidemic - Essay Example

? 7 February What caused the obesity epidemic? Obesity is one of the main issues of the world in the present age. There has been a rapid increase in the population of overweight and obese people over the decades. This has also become a root cause of not only the spread of diseases but also an occurrence of diseases in the younger population. Today, a lot of children in the USA are suffering from such health disorders as diabetes and blood pressure, which were previously associated only with old people. Syndrome X is rapidly growing as an illness among the Americans. Although this disease is genetically transferred, yet the contemporary American lifestyle and diet in many ways acts as a catalyst in the spread of this disease. A person suffering from Syndrome X is not only obese, but also has lower metabolism than other people his/her age. The individual is also a patient of diabetes and heart disease. Obesity not only directly affects an individual’s health, but also lowers his/her morale and perceptions about self-identity. Overweight and obese people are more likely to be made fun of in the society. Overweight and obesity also reduces an individual’s efficiency in work, and accordingly their chances of being granted a job from among hundreds of smart and active competitor candidates. This paper looks into the potential causes of obesity. Obesity is predominantly an outcome of the modern lifestyle, with the contemporary diet and eating habits being the major contributors. Fast food industry is one of the prime contributors of the spread of obesity all over the world in general and in the USA in particular. Corn is the main ingredient of almost all varieties of foods produced by the USA not only because it is produced in large quantities and is quite cheap, but also because it tastes great and can be converted into a variety of forms, some of them being so distinct from the parent seed that they are hardly relatable. “The U.S. produces so much corn so cheaply that Americans have become quite clever at inventing uses for it, from fuel to power cars and trucks to the polymers in plastics. But most of all, we eat it” (Roston). These cheap ingredients are used to produce processed foods. The growth in the cultivation of corn directly fostered a growth in the production of sugars and sugary foods by the food industry in the USA. In the three decades between 1972 and 2002, the quantity of sugar produced per American in a year increased from 104 lbs to 126 lbs, thus undergoing a net increase in production by 21 per cent (Roston). All of this sugar was consumed in making foods and beverages that have become the insignia of the contemporary lifestyle. Processed food is one of the main in items of the contemporary American food industry. Every day, millions of Americans just consume processed food. Consumption of processed food is a very viable option for them as it provides them with a means to save their time as they don’t have to take time out of their busy schedule to cook the food at home. Besides, processed food is generally tastier than most varieties of the organic food cooked at home. Processed foods are available in a very large range. Every single item has a lot of flavors. Many Americans try an item of processed food because it is new in the market and hasn’t been tried before. Just a single try assumes immense potential to cause obesity in the consumers as there are hundreds of items to be tried out there. Processed foods have a low fiber content and are yet rich in fat and carbohydrates, “which turn into glucose, immediately worsening the effect on the endocrine system, dumping tons of sugar into the system for the pancreas to deal with The insulin producing "islets" eventually get worn out” (Victoria). Insulin resistance is also a promoter of obesity in people who suffer from the condition of endocrine disorder which impacts pancreas. The mere content of the foods consumed by the Americans is sufficient to make them obese irrespective of the quantity in which it is consumed. One of the most fundamental causes of the increase of obesity is people’s attempt to lose weight. Ironically, the harder they have tried to become slim and smart, the more they have increased their susceptibility to fall prey to obesity. This can primarily be attributed to people’s lack of awareness about the selection of right nutrients to be consumed at the right time and in the right quantity. People have generally assigned all causes of obesity to the consumption of fat, which is plainly both inappropriate and insufficient. Although fat does play a role in increasing an individual’s weight, yet it is not the only factor. Consumption of carbohydrates can be just as bad. In their attempt to lower the fat content in their diet, people have started to heavily rely on protein shakes and juices. Most of these people following a severe diet plan are unaware of the fact that they are indirectly increasing their body’s tendency to gain weight. Juices contain a lot of sugars which release glucose in the body. The glucose is converted into glycogen excess of which is stored in the body as fat. In addition to that, since such a low fiber diet does not fulfill the bodily requirement of daily fiber intake, the individual has to resist a constant temptation to eat food. Thus, the individual wastes a lot of energy throughout the day resisting food and suppressing hunger, which ultimately gets beyond the individual’s control and he/she ends up eating like he/she has been hungry for months. Mostly, the whole day of hunger culminates into the intake of a high fat diet in the night, after which the individual goes to sleep, thus minimizing the chances for any of it to be burnt in exercise. People in America generally overeat not because they feel hungry, but because they have been starving themselves for the whole day, feeding just upon rice cakes and protein shakes. Dieting also has many adverse consequences all of which play a role in increasing an individual’s tendency to become overweight. Dieting does not cause a permanent weight loss. Immediately following the commencement of the dieting, an individual may undergo a sudden weight-shed, only to not only recover the lost weight but also gain more once the plan has met with failure. In addition to that, a highly unwanted consequence of dieting is lowering of the metabolism of the body which makes the person on diet becomes lazy and lethargic. He/she does not have the energy it takes to do heavy exercise in the gym that burns the fat and builds the muscles. Low body metabolism means the body is not doing enough work internally to generate energy. When an individual eats food, it takes energy to digest the food which reduces the body’s tendency to store fat as it is consumed in releasing the energy for digestion. People of all ages in general and children in particular are encouraged to consume fast food. Various forces are in action to bring a holistic change in the society by using these basic units. A correspondent of CBS News, Bill Whitaker carried out research to study the impact of TV ads on children. He found that TV ads advertising unhealthy foods containing lots of sugar, fat and salt assume great responsibility for altering the children’s eating habits for the worse. “When kids see commercials displaying Banana Sundae Pop Tarts and Chocolate Chip Cookie cereal, they think, “That’s what I want for breakfast!” Children are an easy target for the food industry” (Stanish). Critics say that it is inappropriate to hold the food industry responsible for the epidemic of obesity in the USA. They base their opinions on the view that choosing food is an individual’s decision. But in a society with a culture of fast food, it is very difficult for an individual to integrate into the society and yet stick to an individualistic diet plan. Besides, there is a lot of research that suggests that fast food restaurants have motivate people to consume the high-fat diet. “[F]ast food restaurant within a tenth of a mile of a residence results in a 4.4 percent increase in the probability of gaining over 20 kilo” (Currie et al. 29). Hence, where there is provision, there is usability. Concluding, the epidemic of obesity is an outcome of the contemporary lifestyle. Consumption of fast food and processed food has not only become a cultural element, but also an intrinsic feature of the modern age. There is a growing variety of food along with temptation for everyone. The strongest means of advertisement are employed to increase the consumption of these foods. Processed foods made by corn taste great and suit the busy schedule of people of all ages. All these factors have brought an overall change in the diet, and have increased people’s tendency to become overweight and obese. Works Cited: Currie, Janet; DellaVigna, Stefano; Moretti, Enrico; and Pathania; Vikram. “The Effect of Fast Food Restaurants on Obesity.” Jan. 2009. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. . Roston, Eric. “America's Obesity Crisis:Agriculture: The Corn Connection.” 7 June 2004. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. . Stanish, Janelle R. “The Obesity Epidemic in America and the Responsibility of Big Food Manufacturers.” StudentPulse. Vol. 2. No. 11. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. . Victoria. “The Real Causes of the Obesity Epidemic: The Largest of All.” n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. . Read More