What if every nutrition label you read was a lie? The bad news is that they are. Unfortunately nutrition labels do not exemplify a clear representation of what is going into your body. The society we live in today has made it very difficult for Americans to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Because of the marketing industry's successful persuasion on consumers, the skyrocketing prices of healthy foods, and an overall excessive amount of processed foods being made in our country, obesity is inevitable. Many people also suffer from obesity when they have little to no access to fresh produce or non-processed home cooked meals because of the where they live is less wealthy. Since unhealthy foods are cheaper, people tend to buy excessive amounts of it giving tons of money to the fast food industry, which " ...  has grown from a $6 billion-a-year industry in 1970 into a corporate juggernaut with more than $170 billion in annual revenues today." (Fast Food is Harmful to People and the Planet) This gives this industry a ginormous amount of control entitling it to basically market their products in any way they want without anyone stopping them. Therefore obesity is caused by our environment being one that manipulates us into eating sugary foods and forces us to buy foods at low prices because healthy food is too expensive. Although social media has created high standards for us, Americans are not losing weight. Obesity is definitely caused by over eating, but what causes this over eating and why can't it be stopped?Our surroundings and where we grow up contributes to our jaded views of a healthy lifestyle, which causes us to struggle. The environment that social media creates with its marketing and advertisements for food cause us to over eat while other advertisements including models make us question our own physical appearance. Whichever way we are influenced by social media the problem is that it lacks the representation of a healthy normal body weight and because of that, "For the first time in human history, the number of overweight people rivals the number of underweight people" (Global Issues, Obesity). Therefore, the reasons why Americans struggle with obesity would be because we fall for false advertising, lack awareness of hidden sugar, live in areas with little to no access to fresh non-processed food, and are on a budget. 

Since America has gone through changes regarding the development of new resources that make food more abundant and available, when historically speaking obesity has not always been an epidemic like it is today. In past generations there was a scarcity of food rather than the abundance we have today. Throughout history, being overweight wasn't frowned upon because it meant that you were privileged enough to eat despite the current scarcity. Although, now that our doctors are more well equipped and informed, we are aware that being overweight and especially obese can have very fatal side effects. (A History of Obesity) Today with social media, people are often portrayed as underweight, setting unhealthy standards for everyone in our society.  In the 1900's when industrialization took place is when trends of obesity started to begin as well as the more sedentary lifestyle when transportation and television become popular (Renee). The more people were introduced to technology, the more willing they were to stop exercising and to watch commercials advertising fattening foods on TV. We also cannot help but crave sugar because we were all born with an automatic liking for sugar, which can serve as background while understanding why we can become so addicted to it. (Sugar-coating Science)

Over time, America improves on its strategies on making products appealing to consumers although these scheming strategies aren't always best for us. Unfortunately the marketing world isn't as trustworthy as we think when it comes to the health of their target audiences. Americans put too much trust into nutrition labels, which allows them to believe whatever the label and packaging claims, which makes them so successful. The advertisements' number one priority is profit, not the health of Americans. Companies spend tons of money on advertising their products and, "Given that fast food companies now collectively spend over $4 billion a year on advertising (with at least $1.5 billion of that directly targeting children), it is no surprise that kids six to eleven years of age were exposed to 59 percent more Subway ads, 26 percent more McDonalds ads, and 10 percent more Burger King ads in 2009 than they were in 2007" (Fast Food is Harmful to People and the Planet). When children are watching their favorite cartoon and the commercials are just as fun as the show that is on, the children become excited about whatever food is being displayed and immediately beg their parents for it. As more captivating advertisements are created, people as well as children are way more likely to crave and purchase these foods because of their constant appearances on the television, billboards, in magazines, and in many more places. 

Because of the creativity behind the misleading slogans, logo designs, and packaging created by marketing firms people do not even realize that they are being manipulated into buying products full of sugar. America's views on sugar have definitely been misled which is why many people do not restrict the amounts of sugar they consume. There is scientific evidence that there is a direct correlation with sugar consumption and health issues such as obesity (Sugar-coating Science). There are many products in which sugar is added but is left out of the nutrition label, which is where we are under the illusion that we are eating well. There are also a lot of foods that we wouldn't expect sugar to be added to but there were huge amounts snuck into them. For example, Campbell's tomato soup, a rather savory a meal, has 12 grams of sugar per serving while Yoplait light strawberry yogurt which is advertised as being "light" meaning low in sugar and calories, has 10 grams of sugar which then disproves their claim of being "light". (Sugar-coating Science). 

Although many companies disguise how much added sugar their products contain, this one video created really shows a message. Most advertisements never reveal the truth about the sugar content in the foods or drinks they are representing but Sugar-coating Science provided us with an example of an advertisement that did. New York City's anti-sugar PSA campaign created a video representing the reality behind Television commercials. The video featured a boy sitting at a bar eating sixteen packs of sugar which were meant to represent the amount of sugar in soda. (Sugar-coating Science) The purpose of this video was to raise to attention that drinking sodas like Coke and Pepsi is the same as eating sixteen packs of sugar. People wouldn't voluntarily eat packs of sugar but they would drink a soda containing that amount of sugar. The message is that if health hazards like these weren't hidden people wouldn't want to consume any of these products which shows how much power advertisements have on our choices we make. 

Sugar hiding in foods you do not expect is challenging enough, but when these foods are your only option because of where you live is when people will run into trouble. Maintaining a balanced diet can be less attainable depending on where you live which is why it is proven that obesity rates are higher in more parts of the United States than others (Obesity Maps). In low income areas in the United States there are more fast food restaurants than higher income places because they are much more affordable. Fast food is convenient for people who work multiple jobs with not enough time to cook as well (Fast Food Is Harmful to People and the Planet). Living in an area where owning a car is more of a rarity, walking on the regular consists of always passing a McDonalds, KFC, or Popeyes which makes places like these hard to resist when the nearest grocery store is miles away. College campuses are also surrounded by these places because of college students not having their own income, which is why many students gain weight. Many people can only afford to make their life choices based off of their finances not off of their preferences or what's best for their health.

Not having access to fresh produce is hard enough but being on a budget while given the opportunity to go grocery-shopping makes it a challenge for customers to buy all the food necessary for a balanced diet. Walking into a supermarket with a healthy grocery list in your hand has become a pricey trip whereas grabbing junk food off the shelves is significantly more cost efficient. The American Dietetic Association wanted to look into this issue so they conducted a survey in which they were able to prove, " ... that higher-calorie, energy-dense foods are the better bargain for cash-strapped shoppers. Energy-dense munchies cost on average $1.76 per 1,000 calories, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 calories for low-energy but nutritious foods" (New York Times, A High Price for Healthy Food). Therefore people with low incomes can provide for themselves a lot easier when their diet consists of junk food. The practicality of junk food being so cheap and available forces poorer people to eat unhealthily and therefore become closer to the level of obesity. 

Certain places around America price their foods differently and in specific areas the costs of junk food may be extremely affordable, which can account for obesity being more popular in those places. Living in states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee that have the highest obesity rates of around thirty percent speaks on behalf of the fact that where you live can affect your weight (Obesity Maps). These states may lack, "Connected streets and the ability to walk from place to place and provision of and access to local public facilities and spaces for recreation and play" (Obesity, Global Issues). These states could also possess excessive amounts of fast food restaurants.

Since the prices of foods do not advocate for healthy eating and differing circumstances depending on where you live make it harder to take care of your body, there are many suggestions on how grocery stores should encourage healthy purchases. If America were to consider the suggestions stated by many of how we could become a healthier country as a whole and reduce the obesity rates it would be very beneficial for everyone. If junk foods and sugary beverages were taxed, " ... the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages should decrease, as should the incidence of disease and therefore public health costs; and money could be raised for other uses" (Bittman). If the government does not choose to pursue the taxing of unhealthy goods consumers should consider spending the extra money on healthy foods because in the long run it will save money because they will not have to pay for their health problems from eating poorly.

By acknowledging suggestions people have to prevent obesity we can see the differing perspectives people have on the issues. Although many people believe that obesity is a disease or that it is developed from genetics or that, "A stressed person will put on more fat than a non-stressed person even when both eat the same number of calories" (The Rise in Obesity Is Due to Stress). Our environment filled with advertisements has too much of an influence on the way we eat and many people do not eat as a side effect of stress. There are too many factors that cause people to be obese which disproves that it is something you are born with and that it is just caused by stress. Obesity isn't a disease itself although it leads to other diseases. Obesity effects Americans with all different financial statuses although I do believe that lower income Americans find themselves facing many obstacles in maintaining a healthy lifestyle because " ... they are malnourished because they do not have enough to feed themselves, and they are obese because they eat poorly, with an important energy imbalance ... The food they can afford is often cheap, industrialized, mass produced, and inexpensive" (Obesity, Global Issues). People who struggle with these issues most likely live in areas referred to as food deserts where there are only fast foods restaurants around replacing supermarkets. 

Obesity is clearly a complex issue with many differing viewpoints on why it is so rampant in our society. The complexity of this issue makes it hard to narrow all the potential causes of it down to one main cause. Therefore there are multiple factors that can cause some one to be obese. Since "40-50% of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten" (Obesity, Global Issues) obesity rates are increasing each day as people keep choosing junk food over vegetables and fruit.  If we do not see through the false advertising and lower the prices of foods that are beneficial to our health while taxing unhealthy foods, more and more people will be diagnosed with Cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Musculoskeletal disorders, and several types of Cancer (Obesity, Global Issues). Since we are capable of changing the environment that we live in we must step up in order to save lives and prevent the deadly effects obesity has (Obesity Maps). 

To overall conclude, Americans need to be aware of the biggest issue at hand, which is that advertisements are fooling them and convincing them to eat foods that are extremely harmful to our health. Marketing firms take advantage of our, " ... obliviousness represented in virgin purity in the advertisements of the food industry, in which food wears as much makeup as the actors" (Berry). As long as we make efforts to take care of our bodies and try to not focus on the prices of foods we can avoid obesity. We must look past grocery stores' objectives being the volume of their products and their abilities to sell. Obesity can kill people therefore if marketing firms cooperates with Americans we will be much better off.

