Obesity In America

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Imagine being at a friend’s funeral, where the parents had to lamentably bury their young child, all due to poor food and health that has dispersed throughout America. Although America is one of the most prosperous countries in the world, it is also the unhealthiest country. The world’s view of American society consists of people having a Big Mac in one hand and holding a remote control in the other. In reality, this stereotype is not far from being precise. The definition of obesity is the condition in which an individual has an abundant amount of grossly fat and being extremely overweight. Over the span of many years, the life expectancy of an individual has diminished in Americans due to the poor diet that has evolved. Today, the new norm …show more content…
In competition with each other and operating under the philosophy that bigger is better, restaurants often size up on the portions that are equivalent to two to four normal servings. Increased portion size is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic and one reason why women consume over 335 more calories per day than they did in 1971, while men consumed 168 more calories per day. The food industry should help the consumer make healthy food choices by alternating the what is inside the food and how big the portion size is. Newly developed food products should be produced to satisfy all the consumer's desires as well as satisfying the different dietary needs and lifestyles that differ per person. The amount of food an American eats should decrease to a reasonable amount in order to decrease intake of unnecessary calories and fat. Brownlee also suggests that, “The obvious direction to go down, toward what nutritional policymakers are calling “smart-sizing”... how about bringing back the 6.5 ounce sodas of the ‘40s and ‘50s? Or imagine, as Critser does, the day that McDonald's advertises Le Petit Mac, made with high-grade beef and a delicious whole-grain bun”(26). Brownlee provides the suggestion that the food industry should slash the portions that there are today and return to the portions that society had previously, all while bringing back the healthy ingredients that should be contained in the food. Another instance in which the food industry can change their food to decrease the chance of obtaining obesity or its forlorn diseases is by reducing genetically modified foods. GMO foods cause the foods to endure nutritional changes causing to alter the nourishment the individual receives. The main sources that contain GMOs are corn and sugar, which can be found in an abundant amount of food that is provided by the food industry and damages the
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