In America today we have many different things to worry about from Aides to
drugs, but what if I told you that there was an epidemic going around in America that has
killed more then 300,00 people a year (tuberose,1). An epidemic so strong that over
the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in the United States? (Nutrition,1).
How would you feel if I told you this very epidemic was in your house now? America is
at war right now and we are losing , this war started many years ago and has not yet
been won. Every year we lose many of our beloved ones to this monster , what can we
do? Obesity, the new green eyed monster, and has taken over America and nothing has
been done. Americans are heaviest people in the world we have been the heaviest
since , the 1950s. With our growing wealth and appetites we eat way more than three
meals a day, which in some countries is a whole weeks worth of food. “In 1996, a U.S.
Department of Agriculture study revealed that at least 33 percent of all adults in the
United States were overweight; that number increased to 61 percent of adults and 13
percent of children in 1999 according to the Surgeon General. In late 2001, the Surgeon
General’s report said 27 percent of Americans are obese and 61 percent are
overweight.” ( Tuberose,3)
Scientists have found there are four main components working against us in this battle of
the bulge, The media, our eating habits, lack of exercise, and our own individual
heritage.
     In today’s society it seems that everywhere you look you are always being
pressured into trying to make yourself better, there are signs every where you look
telling you that your not pretty enough, smart enough, thin enough, or that anything you
have is not good enough. All this pressure that the media puts on people causes a low
self-esteem (Tuberose,6). When people are stressed out or have a low self-esteem
they produce a hormone called insulin, which increases the lipid intake causing people
to gain weight in their midsection and buttocks, the two most dangerous storage areas.
(Susan G. Berg page 12). Not only does the media tell you that you are worth less they
try to fool you into thinking that you might not be so worthless if you bought some of
their products for example, diets pills. Most diets pills are dehydrators, they make you
think you are losing weight when in reality you are only losing water. In 1999 a study
was done to determine if diet pills really helped weight loss, in this study four leading
brand name weigh loss pills where used, they tested 100 males and 100 females, who
did not change their eating habits or exercising habits, and found that every participate
loss a fair amount of weight but when taken off the pill every participant either gained all
of their weigh back or more. (Aliha Bauman, page 12-13). Since the invention of
television the routine of exercise has decreased and the waist lines of Americans has
increased. Americans spend more time in front of the television watching commercial
after commercial, which displays images of food. Studies have shown that while watching
television most people tend to think they are hunger even after they had just ate dinner.
Not only does television rise your calorie intake it also deprives you from getting the
exercise you need. An average person need to walk at least a mile everyday to say
healthy those who walk less are putting themselves at risk for obesity. “Television
literally is an obesity machine” (tuberose, 67).
     Eating the right types and amounts of food are key to a healthy life style,
people who eat too much junk food or not enough food are at a very high risk for
obesity. In America today skinny people are seen to be better then other people because
the media displays them that way on television and in magazines “overweight people
take a psychological beating from the social stigma of being overweigh”(tuberose,6)
. These images cause many people to go on diets so that they can be the “Perfect size”
but what most people don’t realize is that diets actually make people bigger, then they
where in the beginning and that not every one is made to be the same size.( Susan G.
Berg, page 2 ). When people cut back on their calories or starve themselves to lose
weight their body starts to defend itself my lowering the amount of food that is being
burned, if you starve yourself for more then a couple days then eat until you are full
your body still thinks your in a famine and will store all of the calories you just finished
eating instead of burning them( Susan G. Berg, page 4). Its not really what you eat but
how much you eat that effects how your manage your weight if you eat bigger meals,
you eat more calories. It only takes 3,500 calories to gain one pound.( American ,2).
an average person who eats out every day either at fast food restaurant or a regular
restaurant consumes more then 6,000 a week this is because people tend to go to
places that serve bigger proportion so that they can get more food with less money.
More food is not always a bad thing if you are getting the right kinds, actually higher
amounts of different types of food can actually make you lose weight. Your metabolism
stores calories, that turns into fat, when you don’t eat enough food but if you eat too
much food it starts to burn calories faster and you lose weigh. Not only do you increate
your metabolic rate by eating healthier foods you also increate your bodies intake in
minerals and vitamins that help your body function properly (Susan G. Berg, page 15-
16). Vegetables , fruits , whole grains, and lean means are some of the healthier foods.
it is suggested by the National Health association to eat at least a 6 servings a day of
Grains, 4 to 5servings of vegetables, 2 or 3 servings of fruit , 2-3 servings of dairy and a
serving of lean meat at every meal. They also say when eating dairy go for the fat free
variety.
     Surveys found that only 1 in every 10 Americans exercise like they should.
(Aliha, page 116-122). What most people don’t understand is that next to eating right
exercise plays the biggest parts in saying healthy. “ Regular physical activity reduces
people’s risk for heart attack, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure, and may
reduce their risk for stroke. It also helps to control weight” (Nutrition, 6). The hardest
part of exercising is not the actual active, the hardest part is making a plan and sticking
with the plan. Most people come up with excuses when they think about exercising
like ,“I don’t have the time” or “ My family will get in the way” what people need to do
before they give exercising the boot is first , Try exercising for a month; when people
first start exercising they move muscles and joints that have not been moved in a long
time, sometimes these muscles and joints begin to ache; if a person works out for a
mouth their joints and muscles stretch and the pain decreases.( Aliha, page120) a person
needs to reward themselves and their progress then they begin to exercise . When
starting an exercise program people need to buy a calendar so that they can mark off
everyday they exercise so they can see their actual progress and gain more motivation.
People should also do exercises that they know how to do or ones that appeals to them
in the beginning. If a person does not know how to do something most of they time they
quit trying but if they feel comfortable with what they are doing they will keep doing it.
(Aliha, page 120-121). People do not have to exercise for hours and hours every day or
get a membership at a gym, a simple 30min walk and every day activities like walking
up the stairs instead of taking the elevator can do wonders to a person health.
     Your ancestors play a very big role in the body you have today. Different
research done by prevention health and other organizations have found that Native
Americans and Pacific Islanders , Hispanics, and African Americans sore fat easier then
other ethnical groups, and Asian and Anglos store less fat ( Aliha , page 14).This does
not mean that one group cannot become over weight or that one group cannot be
healthy. Although researchers are still not sure they believe that cultures who suffered
great famines, in ancient years, developed a gene that stored more fat during hard
times so these people would not starve (tuberose, 13-14). With Americas advanced
technology and wealth famine is a thing of the past; people no longer have to hunt for
their food , or have to starve for long periods at a time so this gene that was developed
centuries ago no longer has a purpose but still stores unneeded fat. Six days out of
every week for 100 weeks researchers gave identical twins , from different ethnic
heritages ,1,000 more calories then they usually ate. Every one was eating more then
they where suppose and everyone gained weight but some gained more then others.
(Aliha ,page2)
     If we can come together and learn to live a healthier life ,full of eating
right ,and exercising we can over come this monster which kills to many of our beloved
ones each year. If we don’t act now we might face worse consequences in the long
run. “According to a 1995 report by the Institute of Medicine, 59 percent of the adult
population met the current definition of clinical obesity, which qualifies the disease for
epidemic status. One study predicted that if obesity continues to increase at its current
rate, every single man, woman, and child will be obese by the year 2030.”( Tuberose,3)



Sources
1. American family Physicians. “ what it takes to lose weight”. Jan 1,2003. American
     Academic of family physicians.02/03/05.
     
2. Tuberose “calories and obesity” no posting date, Tuberose .02/03/05
     
3. Nutrition & Physical Activity.08/17/04.National Center for chronic diseases prevention
     and health. 02/03/05
4.Aliha Bauman and the editors of Prevention . Fight Fat. Library of congress: St. Martins
     press. 1998
5. Susan G. Berg and the editors of Prevention . Food Smart. Library of congress: St.
     Martins press. 1998