Obesity

“In the developed world, increasing obesity can be attributed primarily to the environment in which we live and eat” (Rozin 1). I believe that our environment has evolved in such a way that has made becoming obese extremely easy, requiring us to increase our self-awareness and control. To understand this statement, we must examine three factors that impact us the most. First, as humans we have evolved to fit our first hunter and gatherer ancestor’s lifestyle, therefore we must make several changes in America. Second, our country’s culture is largely different from many other countries around the globe, and we should learn from them. Lastly, our children are not being raised properly and it is the start of a vicious cycle, so we must first educate parents. I think that if we understand as Americans that our environment is posing a threat to our children and we alter a few things, the epidemic will slowly but surely go away.

First and foremost, evolution has adapted our bodies to eat a diet rich in low fat meats and grains, which is largely different from a vast majority of American’s diets. Our ancestor’s used to have to stalk and kill their meals, burning more than enough energy that one would gain from a single meal. Furthermore, when food was in abundance hundreds of years ago, our bodies were made to store fat so that in times of famine we could survive. These characteristics have made the lifestyle of Americans overwhelming to our body’s regulatory system, with our food intake exceeding what the average person burns. We must make a change to our diets and lifestyles so we can utilize what we have evolved into.

Just as importantly, the cultural differences of our country from others around the world make America more susceptible to the epidemic of obesity. We can analyze the characteristics of other countries that are similar to ours but in which obesity is not a problem, and make changes to the environment in our own for the better. The best example of a country that does not have a problem with obesity is France. In this country only “8 percent of French adults qualify as obese, compared with about 31 percent of Americans” (Rozin 1). One thing that we can learn from the French is that they eat less frequently than we do in America, with only two meals a day being the societal norm, although they eat more fat in these meals (Rozin 2). Also, in America there are endless amounts of all-you-can eat buffets, while in France there are barely any. We pride ourselves on quantity and not quality, which is something that will not be easy to change. In addition, portion size is another huge difference between our cultures. When I visited France several years ago, I stopped into McDonalds several times. One thing that I noticed was how much smaller each portion was in relation to the size of our country’s portions. Since it is harder to get people to increase how much energy they consume everyday, it would be beneficial to decrease portion sizes at restaurants across the nation. “Many investigators have shown, in the laboratory or at eating establishments, that people eat less when they are offered smaller portions -- even when they can have second helpings” (Rozin 1).

Finally, the first and most important step that we need to take starts at home. Parents need to start teaching their children what a good portion size is, so if and when we transition from our norm, it will go smoothly. In the article “Too Much of a Good Thing,” Greg Crister states that the American family “needs to promulgate dietary restraint, something our ancestors knew simply as avoiding gluttony” (Crister 486). I believe that obesity is partially caused by biology, but there are steps we can take to override these problems. When an obese parent has children, more likely than not they are feeding their kids the same diet that they eat, and also portion sizes that are much bigger than what is needed. How can a child possibly stay thin when they are eating enough food per meal for three children? This problem perpetuates itself and causes a vicious cycle, because for every one obese parent comes at least one obese child, further growing the obese population in America.

To further illustrate my point, consider this example from a personal experience. Growing up, I had a best friend whose name was Jonathan, we were the same age and hung out all the time. The only difference between the two of us was the fact that his mother was overweight. I was fed 3 square meals a day, with a snack or two of fruit in between. In contrast, he was fed 4 gigantic meals a day, with candy bars as snacks in between. Overtime this poor diet began to take a toll on him and when faced with a decision