Trey Taylor
LAL101
3 March 2014
We’re the Fattest Country in the World
Over the years America has slowly but surely become the fattest country in the world. Not only are our adults becoming overweight, but this occurring but in some as young five years old. Chances are that you know at least one overweight person. One third of our population is considered overweight. Because of the increasing rate of obesity in our citizens we are also becoming one of the unhealthiest countries in the world. For example, Type II diabetes once thought to only occur in adults, is now frequently appearing in children as young as seven. The rise in healthy food prices and the decrease in the price of unhealthy options have contributed to this trend since the dawn of the fast food industry. Because of this fact more and more of our children and adults are becoming over weight. The obesity issue in America is not an easy fix; it requires the greediness of CEO’s to cease, and for the people to take their health into their own hands. I am proposing that people take a hiatus from the fast food chains and soda, follow the basic formula for weight loss, Exercise regularly and make eating healthy a community project.
At the rate America is going , by the year 2030, 32 million more American’s will be obese, that brings the total to 42%, almost half of the country being overweight. (Gann 1) According to the National Institutes of Health, obesity and overweight related conditions such as heart disease, stroke, Type II diabetes, and certain types of cancer are second among the leaders in preventable death only losing out to tobacco use. The number one thing doctors prescribe to fix these conditions is to lose weight. The estimated cost of obesity related health issues was 147 billion dollars in 2008 and on average an overweight person spends about $1429 more per year on healthcare than those who were not. (Finkelstein 1) Oh and don’t forget the younger crowd: in 2012, more than one...