        The Millennial generation is described as everything from special and sheltered to team-oriented and even nonconventional. There is no end to the speculations about the millennial generation, but that does not mean that there can not be significant changes to the country and culture as a result of this generation. Millennials are generally accepted to be the population born anywhere from 1980 through 2000 and the current ages of 16-36. The millennial generation has already and will continue to have a significant impact on the exercise and health trends in the United States especially through the use of social media. Millennials have been stereotyped as a generation that needs instant gratification and a generation that is lazy and self centered. These ideas are an important factor in health trends because the attitudes of millennials have a huge effect on the ways that they exercise and eat. Numerous research projects have been conducted on the ways in which people exercise and what kinds of foods they eat. In addition, the overall health of the population has been dwindling which is evidenced by the increase in the obesity rate as a whole. Fad diets, quick and easy workout programs, and unique weight loss methods have become common as a result of the millennials attempts to correct these unhealthy trends. The prevalence of social media has provided ways for these crazy new trends to spread around the world. Apps are created for daily workouts and healthy eating and to promote new diets and ideas. Even though the aim of the millennials was to make the United States healthier, current health and exercise trends have been overall negatively affected by the millennial generation as evidenced by the increase of obesity in the population.

Although the trends that millennials have caused have mostly negative effects, it should not be misunderstood that there are no benefits to the health of American people from the impact of the millennial generation. Millennials "are better informed, more demanding, and drive change more than any other generation before" and they have both positive and negative effects 

(Menehan 22).  The ideas and innovations that have been a result of millennials are not completely harmful they are simply not enough to change the overall health of the United States, as the obesity rates during this time have not gone down, but have increased. 

The millennial generation as a whole is very different from the previous generations before it. Many of these differences have to do with and affect the health of the American people. Qualities of the millennial generation that are important to their health include the self-centered attitude and instantaneous results. According to Les Mills Jr., a fitness expert, "millennials want to be around like-minded people of the same age. When it comes to exercise most people want to get in, get results, and get out. They're looking for short workouts and bang for their buck" (Rein 1). Millennials are an important part of exercise and have the power to influence the trends that could lead to a healthier population. Mills agrees that "the fitness industry needs to make an effort to get the Millennial market and provide products they want or risk of missing out on the new generation of fitness" (Rein). Millennials have caused many changes in the way that people exercise but this has not changed the fact that obesity is still very prevalent in the United States. 

        The general health of the American people is not only a concern for those who have issues with weight loss, unhealthy eating, eating disorders or other problems. In fact, according to a study from 1999 to 2001 the "prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents and obesity among men increased significantly" and in "2004, 17.1% of US children and adolescents were overweight" (Ogden 1).  Due to this increase, it is obvious that the millennial generation has greatly changed the current health and exercise trends (Ogden 1). Although it may seem to some that the changes that Millennials have made in health and food trends are insignificant, there are real world applications to this research. The United States has steadily increased in the obesity rate since 1999 according to research done through the National Center for Health Statistics and the millennial generation could be both a positive and negative influence on these statistics (1).

Current exercise and health trends range from specific diets such as low or no carb diets, juicing, protein shakes, gluten-free, nondairy, vegan and vegetarian. Body-types like the "thigh gap" and the "bikini bridge" dominate society's ideals of a "healthy" body. These fad diets and unrealistic body expectations are a significant part of the changes that millennials have catalyzed that changed the health and exercise trends in the United States. A study by Devendra Singh in 1993 revealed that the preferred body type for females with wider hips, but noted that now a thinner figure is more accepted (Ganatra 3). Singh's research being before the millennial era demonstrates a baseline with which to compare the effects that the millennial generation has had. The study also notes that the "thigh gap" which is "any situation in which a person's thighs do not touch while the person is standing upright with a normal posture" is a new preference in millennial society (1). The "thigh gap" is definitely an example of a detrimental change in America's health trends and has "been described by media outlets as a dangerously unattainable goal for most normal adults" (1).

        Millennials are known for being entitled and technology obsessed but according to the 2015 Millennial Running Study the number of members of the millennial generation who aren't in fact stuck to their devices is much higher than expected. According to an article in Shape Magazine, "About half of respondents have been running less than five years, and about one-third have been running for six to 10 years" (Mazzo). This health trend is an example of a way that people have attempted to combat the diminishing health of Americans but failed.  In the United States, exercise trends have definitely changed as a result of the millennial generation and are necessary to create new standards for the future.

        The popular trend juicing is one example of a change that millennials have elicited in the population. Juicing is a process that removes the insoluble fiber from fruits and vegetables, but does not take out all the fiber in them (Juicing). Some juice diets involve only drinking juice for long periods of time while others allow the participant to eat real food too. This trend has been used by many young people because it is advertised as a good way to lose weight, even though there is minimal research to prove this. The problem with juicing is "the fruits and vegetables we are eating today do not supply anywhere near the 'adequate and therapeutic' amounts of the nutrients we require for optimal health" so juicing itself is not an effective way of losing weight or being "healthy" (Berger 1).

As the workforce becomes filled with the majority of millennials, employers are trying to entice them with workout plans through the work place. However, Rita Pyrillis writes that "as a demographic, millennials do have a greater propensity for health and fitness than previous generations. But employers that fail to address the motivation behind the action end up creating wellness programs that don't interest their millennial-age workers. Given the fact that the millennial generation will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, that could be a costly mistake" (Pyrillis 1). Employers' attempts to satisfy millennials are far off because they do not truly understand the millennials' motivations and how they are changing the current health and exercise trends in the United States. This means that the generation as whole has new ideas and mind frames that are causing change in the ways that Americans exercise and eat. The result of increasingly high obesity rate is not countered by the Millennials' need to quickly lose weight and participate in seemingly "miracle diets" that may in fact not even be helping them. 

 G. Lawrence Rarick and William Reddan wrote "Youth and Fitness Health" which researched the different types of physical tests that are used to measure children's health in schools. According to Lawrence, the "current controversies regarding the physical fitness of American school children stem largely from the varying concepts of fitness and from the diverse methods which have been employed in its assessment" so the tests that he researched were part of the controversy (515). Lawrence found a connection between the "Kraus-Weber Test and the California Physical Performance Test [where] children who failed one strength item or multiple items performed more poorly on average" in the Kraus-Weber Test (517). Although the report that they wrote is mainly focused on these connections between the tests and the children, they still make a point about the millennial generation and the health of kids in school. Rarick and Reddan explained that "the influence of such factors as age and maturity, sex, physique, and body composition of normal children" has been a major topic of discussion (519). These factors about millennial children as well as the physical fitness tests that they on the school-aged children contributed to Lawrence's and Reddan's research. Millennial children have been the subject of numerous tests like the one that Lawrence researched, and most of them found that these children are increasingly overweight, despite current efforts to change that.

Another study that was conducted about Millennials had the purpose of determining whether or not college age millennials used exercise to relieve stress. The data was collected from a university and the students were selected from 5 random health classes that were required for the students to take. The participants were almost equal in the male and female ratio although there was a majority of freshmen. The study found that in a list of the top-ten stress-reducing activities, physical activities were not common (Bland). As a generation, millennials have grown to use exercise less as a stress relief tool and more for the purposes of losing weight, which is another way they have affected the current exercise trends in the United States. Exercise has become more of a burden than it is part of a lifestyle. When people are forced to exercise to maintain or attempt to reach the unrealistic body or health standards placed on them by society the whole idea of being healthy is changed which has not been a help to the people in the United States because there are still high obesity rates.

The use of protein supplements is another health trend that has been brought about by the millennial generation. These supplements can come in numerous forms some of the most common being protein shakes, bars, powders and pills.  Unfortunately, the use of protein supplements has many shortcomings and is only effective for a small number of people. First, because of the " Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), protein supplements, like any other supplement, are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," so essentially there is no way of knowing what is actually in a protein supplement which could cause dangerous side effects. Second, the "recommended daily intake of protein for healthy adults is 0.75 g of protein/kg body weight, which translates into approximately 45 to 56 g of protein a day" and most protein supplement users get much more than that (Etcheverry). Too much protein in the body leads to increased ketones which are not directly harmful but they can cause the body's pH to drop dangerously, putting stress on the kidneys and making dehydration a serious concern (Etcheverry). In normal individuals this is not a drastic situation, but people that use protein supplements and work out vigorously are susceptible to serious health issues (Etcheverry). Additionally, people who use protein and do not work out regularly may actually be gaining weight because protein has the same amount of calories per gram as sugar does (Etcheverry).  So, although protein supplements can be effective for some people, the majority of the population is not aided by the use of these supplements. 

Fad diets that have become popular because of the millennial generation include no-carb diets, dairy-free and gluten-free diets. These diets are advertised as easy ways to lose weight and make healthy eating choices but in reality they are not helping decrease the obesity problems in the United States. Carol Alt, the author of Eating in the Raw, explained that "I have always loved to dispel people's long-held notions and to shatter their misconceptions. I've found that most people will attack what they don't know. Instead of doing their own homework, they'll follow like sheep whatever passing fad diet the media happens to pick up on. Remember the no-fat Pritikin diet and the no-carbs Atkins diet? What will happen when the fad becomes a non-protein diet? What will be left to eat" (Hurd 1). Alt also adds that many of these diets make the users sick and that they do the opposite of what they are supposed to (1). Diets that have become popular because of social media are rarely effective and are not suitable for most normal people to use. The use of these fad diets have become popular for the wrong reasons and most people are unaware of the negative effects that they can have on the body. 

While some people may argue that the millennial generation has had a positive effect on the health and exercise trends in the United States, they are contradicted by the evidence that shows an increase in obesity rates from previous generations to the current one. The millennial generation as whole has had a huge effect on the health and exercise trends in the United States, assisted by the prevalence of social media. Changes in the fitness industry, fad diets like no-carbs and unrealistic body expectations, ineffective workouts, and unnecessary supplements have all been part of the millennials attempt to better the health of society which has failed. Although some new trends created by the millennial generation may be helpful to those trying to be healthier, the majority of them are detrimental to the health of society as a whole. Research has shown that the millennial generation is highly capable of creating change in American society but there are still no positive evident results to support this. Millennials are the obvious choice to make the changes necessary to help the United States to become a healthier country yet the rate of obesity has still increased through this time of attempted change and the millennials have not helped the problem. A change in the health of the country needs to happen quickly so that the rate of obesity can finally decrease. However, the millennial influence has not been proven to do the trick. Another influence will be necessary in order to create the change needed in society so that there can be a healthier nation. 

