Obesity

The American Obesity Association showed that one hundred twenty-seven million adults in the United States are overweight. Sixty million are obese, nine million are severely obese, and fifty-eight million are at risk of being overweight. Obesity is a cultural issue rather than a political one. Schools educate kids about nutrition and a healthy diet, it's their own decision to choose the healthy foods over the non-healthy items. People are eating themselves to death. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show obesity costs Americans a lot of money. In 1998 medical costs from obesity was at nine point one percent and as high as Seventy-eight point five billion. (Arrison 1). In 1963 the overweight rate was at five percent, but in 2000 jumped to fifteen percent. It's a proven fact that most overweight children become overweight adults. A couple years ago, there was one large child in a class of twenty, but now it rose up to two or three. Minority children have a higher overweight rate: twenty-three percent of Mexican-Americans, twenty-four percent of African-Americans, and thirteen percent of Caucasians. Obesity rates have gone up in America and other population groups. The main reason obesity occurs is because people are eating more than they should be. (Berg 4). Wealthy people also gain weight if they spend more time working rather than exercising. Poor people exercise little, therefore still become obese. In the past twenty-five years, obesity rates have doubled. In 1999 and 2000, United States adults were overweight or obese. (Mancino, Lin, and Ballenger 1). An estimate of twenty-two million children under the age of five are overweight worldwide. Since 1980, the U.S.A double the number of overweight children. In the world there are more than one billion adults and three hundred million that are obese. Obesity and being overweight can cause a major risk for serious diet-related chronic diseases. Obesity is found out by using body mass index, also known as BMI. A BMI over twenty-five kilograms per meters squared is known as being overweight and anything over thirty kilograms per meters squared is known as being obese. The BMI reading is starting to shift in many populations. (World Health Organization 1). BMI is calculated by dividing your weight by your height, squared. Fifty-five percent of men and women in the United States are overwight or obese. Child and adolescent obesity rates have increased as well in the last thirty-five years. A medium-size movie theater popcorn has sixteen cups, the standard is only three cups. Soda servings can be fourty-four ounces, but the standard is twelve ounces. (Shinn and Poston 1). People who are overwight, are likely to get heart disease over thin people. Overwight people have a higher blood pressure and a greater risk of stroke and possible kidney failure. Obesity killed three hundred twenty-five thousand American a year, eight times the number who die of Aids. Smoking rates are going down, but obesity rates are accelerating. In 1996 teenagers got twenty-five percent of their calories from snacks. Americans drink an average of fourty-four gallons of soft drinks per year. Between 1970 and 2000 Americans meal dollars spent doubled up to forty percent. Vending machine snack sales have gone up to eighty-five percent in three decades. Obesity is an individual problem, if you don't want to be fat you can control yourself. Obesity isn't only an image (Farley and Cohen 1). The World Health Organization described over eating as the fastest growing form of energy. For the first time, one point one billion people are overwight and equals the number who are underweight. (Shell 4). Food is overproduced in the U.S.A., there are thirty-eight hundred calories per person each day. Each person is supposed to have only half of that. Americans have almost twenty to thirty-three teaspoons of sugar per person a day. (Spake and Marcus 2). Adult