Obesity in America! by: Brian Blomberg

21. September 2009 by student.

Have you ever thought about the word obesity? Well by definition obesity is when someone is very fat or over weight. According to the ASD and CDC in 1962 only 13% of Americans were considered obese. By 1980 it rose to 18%, 1994 23% and in 2000 31%. Wow! To put this in a bigger perspective 1 in every 3 Americans are overweight right now. Some other amazing and shocking statistics are that there are 3.8 million people in the United States that weigh over 300 pounds. 400,000 Americans in the United States, (mostly men) are considered in the super massive, which means 400 pounds or more. These stats are from the ASD obesity and weight control report.                

                In today’s society there is a fast food restaurant on every corner. As everyone knows fast food is extremely unhealthy. To go along with the fast food, many Americans are pressed with time in their day and need to just pick up food as quick as possible. A social problem that is occurring is that there are not enough healthy fast food places around. Another reason why our society is gaining weight is that many jobs today are done by sitting at a desk with a computer for ten hours a day. When you’re sitting down at a desk for ten hours your burning nearly no calories, many of the more active jobs years ago are done by machines now a days. In 1996 the Surgeon General reported that we are burning nearly 800 calories less than our parents did on a daily basis. This is because more people years ago would walk or bike ride to stores and work. Take for example here at Florida Gulf Coast University, are the shuttles really needed? The longest walk you could have on campus is only a mile and a half. If you walk to class everyday you are burning a lot of calories. Why not take that extra 10 minutes and just walk to class instead of sitting on the shuttle bus. Fewer than 25% of Americans exercise 3 times a week or more. It is very hard for our society to change because many of the kids today are growing up just playing video games all day and getting obese from the lack of physical activity.

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