Topic of the Science on a Plate and the Issues of Obesity in America

Obesity in America has increased significantly in the past decade pinion sizes have gotten bigger junk food prices have gotten lower. and clothes sizes have gotten larger. We have become an elastic nation and we haven't even realized it. Something has changed, and that change is very simple but who is to blame? There are three significant factors that contribute to the prominence of growing waistlines: schools families, and corporations schools. When it comes to children‘s health. there are many to blame when students are not at home.

their health lies in the hands of another source. First Lady Michelle Obama states. "Many parents are working hard every day to make sure they provide healthy, balanced meals and snacks to their kids. Unfortunately. we don‘t always have control over the snacks our kids have access to when they’re away from home" (Program Regulations). Schools play a role in students' health and in what they eat schools are the ones who decide what children get for breakfast and lunch and how to spend the school's budget on food.

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They are the ones aware of the ingredients that are present in food distributed to the students. In many cases. these factors lead to an increase of poor health among students based on school regulations and guidelines. schools distribute food to students during breakfast and lunch. According to the Department of Agriculture: Food and Nutrition Services whole grain or fruit must be the first ingredient of foods served, and competitive foods must contain 35 percent or less of total calories from fat per item as packaged or served.

and side dishes shall not be over 200 calories. Although the food being served might meet up to the school’s standards. and those that the Department of Agriculture is requiring. students. on the other hand, have a different opinion. 7.025 pictures of lunches were posted on Fed Up's website. a non-profit organization that strives to improve school lunches 71 percent of the students who posted on the website claimed that their schools sen/e unhealthy foods and are also unsatisfied with what they are given to eat. Students are at school for approximately six to eight hours a day.

Throughout the day they get hungry and do not realize the possibility of unhealthy ingredients in the food given to them. Alyssa Ortiz, a student at Rancho Verde High School, voices, ”When I’m at school I tend not to realize that the food given to me is unhealthy because of the fact that I am so hungry by the time lunch begins." The link between child obesity and poor diet is a matter of school policy and how much funds are focused on the actual food. School lunch funding is distributed among labor. healthy cook training, food transportation, and other costs. Because the funding is not evenly distributed, there is hardly anything left for the food itself. Therefore schools resort to the cheapest least healthy types of food the article. ”How the USA Can Afford Healthy School Lunches" states that “most experts agree that school lunches increase a child's chance of becoming obese."

Overall school funding should be increased to be able to fund healthier foods out of a whole week, students acquire about five to ten meals provided by schools. Schools are responsible for what students consume and should take action in order to decrease obesity rates among children. The majority of what students eat are packaged and not made from scratch, that alone can make a difference in a child's health. Families The excuse “I did not know" a phrase commonly used when parents are addressed about their child's health problems, is irresponsible and unacceptable parents play a big role and are the most influential group in a child‘s development. Parents need to take responsibility for their own children's health because even though there are many to blame, they still have control and the last say to what they should cook and feed their kids. Although schools and fast food chains provide us with unhealthy food, parents of young children should know how to maintain a balanced diet for the sake of their kids' nutrition. Mary MacVean. food and health journalist claims that “They give in to their kids' requests and are not always good role models for eating."

Most parents have a tendency of not being able to say no to their child they hand their child everything because of tantrums and arguments. and the constant whining they receive whenever their child does not get what they yearn for. Denis Campbell, health correspondent, states, “were really concerned that parents are using sweets, chocolates, and fizzy drinks to reward their children." Sweets junk and other unhealthy foods are fed to children on a daily basis. Parents themselves should be knowledgeable of the damage that can take place in their child's body. Families are their own harshest critics Denise Winterman BBC journalist, asserts. "Parents are struggling with a multitude of problems when it comes to their child‘s weight. They range from a lack of education about food, limited cooking skills, and limited money to buy healthier food." Considering they are aware of these problems, why do parents still allow their children to continue with these habits?

There are obvious and multiple solutions to these problems yet they choose to stand there and let their children continue to participate on the ongoing global epidemic of obesity. Most families try to escape their responsibilities by suing companies and putting the blame on them. However, this should not be because fast food chains and other food industries are all there for one thing and this is for profit; which parents should already be highly aware of. They should know that nobody out there is going to care for their child but them, Jodi Stone, mother of three, states, “I choose their diet. It's as simple as that...l have never been one to cater to my child's food preferences". It is the parent‘s job to say no and to educate their children about healthy food choices, Parents guide children to the path of healthy eating and when they are ready to stand on their own they will be able to make the right decisions. Americans tend to play the victim role, conform to suing corporations, and even criticize schools, Mitch Jordan, responder to Zinczenko's article “Don't Blame the Eater", suggests that.

“When people make bad choices...they should face their own consequences“ parents try to escape their own problems because they do not want to own up to their responsibilities and hardly ever want to see the error of their ways. A child's diet is a parent's responsibility. and anything that happens to a child’s health because of improper food intake IS from carelessness, and lack of sense and poor parenting skills. Food Corporations Food corporations not only sugarcoat everything that consumers ingest, they also sugarcoat the truth behind what really goes into their food. Obesity in America is the result of many factors, yet the food industry itself ceases to take the blame for any of it. When we think about this problem, we point fingers at restaurants like McDonald‘s and claim that their food or even their serving sizes are to blame. However the food industry uses these fast food companies as a scapegoat and tries to blend in with the rest of the causes to this growing epidemic.

Not only have the portion sizes gotten bigger, but so have plates, cups, and bowls compared to twenty years ago. The food industry spends more time researching different techniques they can use to get consumers to become more attracted to their products, but why waste money on more advertising when corporations can use the money towards beneficial options? It's simple the food industry's main reason of existence is to produce and receive "more for their money“ people have become victims of an environment created simply for corporation profits. According to Deborah Cohen. a natural scientist at the RAND corporation. the food industry “alters the nutritional content of foods to make them longer lasting on store shelves by increasing fats, sugars, and salt, making it less healthy for the average person to consume them" Since the 1950's the food industry has made use of science and technology to make our food faster, cheaper, and bigger.

In the article, “The Ugly (Economic) Truth About Our Food Industry", Emily Vuong, expresses "...the global food industry has evolved into a factory." Studies show that in the past two decades, food portion sizes have doubled causing the population of America to become oblivious to the larger portion sizes they are receiving. The U.S. has modified even their clothing sizes to accommodate to the growing waistline of children as young as 10 years old. Like portion sizes. advertising methods have grown to have similar techniques as those used in massive fast food companies such as Burger King and McDonald’s. Companies focus more on the color and font of their advertisement appearance than exposing how much calories and sodium levels their products contain. Many companies sponsor education and physical activity-related programs to show they care for the health and wellness of children. Former Kraft Foods Inc executive Michael Mudd stated that companies pose these stunts in order to “look angelic while making consumers feel good about the brand and drawing attention away from the unhealthful nature of the company‘s products."

Corporations in America have grown to become their own fast-food company you would expect that entering a supermarket, you are receiving the healthiest choices, but instead, we now receive pre-packaged foods and identical cuts of meats sealed in plastic. Food companies state that what they do is a result of high demand, but what is really behind their methods is the prominent drive for money. Instead of spending millions of dollars on advertising the false truth, the food industry should properly admit to what is in their food and hold themselves responsible for the neglect they have given to the public and its safety. Obesity is a global epidemic that is beginning to affect everyone schools, families, and corporations all play a role on the prevailing trend of making everything bigger and cheaper. They are each responsible for the trend that causes more children to be overweight. With simply being able to access more healthy choices from each source, the world's population can expect a longer lifespan and a life free of premature heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems.