The Simple Answer to the Problems of Obesity in America

Around the world, America is known to have an obesity problem, but just cannot figure out how to solve it, But what exactly does it mean to be overweight? Generally, people are classified as either underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese by nutritionists and doctors, these classifications are based on body mass index (BMI), which is basically a measure of body fat in regard to height and weight. Historically, the solutions that the United States government has come up with so far have not been effective as more than two-thirds of adults are overweight.

(The State of Obesity) Big proportions, the confusion of “diet” and “nutrition”, inactivity, and the low cost of unhealthy goods are the leading problems to the obesity epidemic just how obese is America? Recall that more than two-thirds of adults are overweight, let’s forget about adults for a second, and look at the future of America's obesity, shockingly, seventeen percent of American children are obese, and thirty-two percent are either overweight or obese.

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Now, let‘s look at the younger children.

Approximately one in twelve children between the ages of two to five are obese in the United States Over the past thirty-five years, obesity rates have more than doubled. The average American is more than twenty-four pounds heavier today than in 1960 what has the United States government done so far to aid the fight against American obesity? One of the most well-known programs is Michelle Obama’s “Let‘s move" campaign, launched in 2010. The goal of this campaign is to combat obesity in children through “effective strategies" which will allow kids to be more active, eat better, and get healthy.

First Lady Michelle Obama implemented this program in many schools throughout the United States She even danced on different televisions shows such as Ellen, as well as on Easter at the White House to celebrate the fifth year of the Let’s Move campaign. The question is, is this plan really working? The first lady has undoubtedly raised awareness about childhood healthy eating and exercise through her fame and personal example.

But outside that, the let’s Move campaign has done more harm than good The Let’s Move campaign was supplemented with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids act. This act included $4.5 billion in funding for the implementation of nutrition standards in schools, while also giving the USDA full authority to set those standards The USDA then agreed with schools to ban whole milk and white bread, add mandatory vegetable and fruit servings, and limit the calorie intake based on the grade level of the student. Unsupringisily, schools from New York to California soon dropped this plan as students were going hungry and tossing out the mandatory fruits and vegetables. The USDA then realized that these healthy options were too expensive for schools, and loosened the cafeteria lunch rules. Additionally, Let’s Move’s major initiative was to increase physical activity among children to an hour of active “play” a day five years have passed, and only twenty-five percent of children ages twelve to fifteen “actively play” for an hour or more.

This highly suggests that children are not responding to the first lady’s call for more physical activity. Most importantly, after the implementation of the Let‘s Move campaign, the obesity percentage of children ages twelve to fifteen actually increased. (CNN) Radley Balko, in “What You Eat is Your Business” discusses the same issue. Balko advocates that banning snacks and soda from schools is not the right way to end obesity. The two hundred million dollars spent on the anti—obesity legislation by President Bush was a complete waste, as obesity only worsened. Therefore, programs such as these passed by the government are rarely effective as proven in the past years. The American government needs to be way harsher in order to fix the obesity problem. First of all, a tax on sugar can be implemented Sugar is the leading cause of obesity in America sodas, snacks, sweets, cereals, and even breads are very high in sugar. Soda is the biggest culprit, and other countries have realized that and taken action.

For example, Mexico created a “peso-per—liter” soda tax in 2013, and have released data of the reduction of soda consumption especially among the poor. In America, sixteen percent of caloric intake comes from added sugars, according to the FDA, the recommended amount of sugar is about 50 grams per day, and many Americans consume that amount just by drinking a twenty-ounce soda with their lunch. The World Health Organization, however, recommends just twenty-five grams of sugar. Well, there goes the soda. American citizens will at first think that this is a punishment, but will soon realize that this is just a “nudge” which will help their health and improve their lifestyle. In fact, New York City and Berkeley have both implemented soda taxes, and they seem to be working. The tax on sugar will definitely be more effective than the Let‘s Move campaign since it will empty people’s pockets if they choose to live a sugar-filled life. “Dieting” and “nutrition” are often confused by Americans.

The diets that Americans go on to lose a few pounds, which they will surely gain back soon enough, is actually the way they should be eating daily. The most influential people in ending obesity in America are the parents of children Children start to develop food habits, healthy or unhealthy, at a very young age, the Obesity Society has found that ten percent of American children ages two to five are obese, and that is mainly due to the atrocious eating habits between the ages of twelve to twenty-four months. If parents came to their senses and provided their children with a clean, healthy, low sugar diet starting at a very young age, the obesity of America would decrease significantly. However, parents do not always do this, so now elementary and middle schools have to, fifty percent or more schools provide nutrition education through kindergarten to eighth grade.

If that was one hundred percent, the obesity number would again, significantly decrease, eight year olds will be more educated on the deathly sugary foods than their parents and will influence the parents’ shopping choices. If the parents are not making the moves, the kids will have to, especially since they are the future of America. However, kids will always look up to their parents ultimately, the parents will influence their children‘s eating habits. Personally, I am split between two different types of eaters in my home my father will not consume a single sugary drink or sweet. My mother on the other hand let’s say she loves her ice cream coming from two viewpoints, I chose to live in a similar lifestyle to that of my father, educating myself on sugar and implementing changes to my nutrition. The solution of educating children at a very young age will be very effective because the problem is getting solved before it develops.

If children know the correct way to eat, obesity will diminish soon enough, many will argue that the obesity problem is actually not the eater‘s fault. David Zincenko, in “Don’t Blame the Eater” advocates this theory, he claims that fast food companies hide calories in their foods. For example, a chicken salad containing one hundred fifty calories is not listed with the two hundred calories added on by almonds and noodles. The six hundred calorie dressing which most people will drench their salads with is listed as three hundred calories on the back, but with two servings in one packet. The simple answer to Zincenko is that people should not be going to these fast foods restaurants in the first place. If they do, they should expect to eat an unhealthy meal that’s why it’s called junk food Instead of blaming the fast food companies, Americans should be educated, preferably at a young age.

Others will argue that since unhealthy goods are cheaper, people will buy those over the more pricey, healthy goods. If there was a tax on sugar, those cheap goods would certainly end up more expensive than the healthy foods, although it is quite hard to accomplish, the government could just raise the prices of any item in a store with a certain fat, sugar, or calorie content, and lower the cost of fruits and vegetables America’s obesity problem has been present for the past two decades. The main culprit is the overconsumption of sugar, which turns into fat if not burned off. infamously known to lead very non-active lifestyles, Americans end up being overweight or obese In order to burn off five hundred calories, a person will have to do about twenty minutes worth of interval sprints.(The State of Obesity) Coming from a Division 1 track sprinter, I can personally tell you that the average American will definitely not do that. So, the simple answer is to get educated and to cut sugart the government can play a big role in this, and when combined with personal responsibility and nutrition education at a young age, anything is possible.