
Fried chicken with a side of macaroni and cheese, sugary baked beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade biscuits, and sweet tea or a delicious spinach salad topped with fresh veggies, grilled chicken, and iced water with lemon-which would you choose? Obviously the average person is going to choose the mouthwatering southern buffet without even second guessing their decision but what are the long term effects of this choice? Of course there will be the typical "food baby" for a few hours following the consumption of this high calorie, carb loaded meal-but what about days, weeks, or months from now? In today's world, Americans do not consider these factors when choosing what to eat and if they were asked, they most likely would not know the answers. The United States has emerged into an incredibly sedentary society that continuously consumes burgers, pizza, ice cream, and fried chicken. Physical activity also plays a role in the country's obesity rates; eating these types of food while not exercising increases one's risk of being obese. If people knew the facts of how these foods harm their bodies and daily lives, they might reconsider reaching for that bag of chip or box of cookies. In sum, a plan or program should be put in place in order to take action and educate Americans on the importance of obesity prevention. Obesity has taken over the United States in the last few decades; it has increased the number of health issues people develop over time, decreased productivity, in turn lowering incomes, and caused a dramatic increase in medical bills and health insurance. Additionally, people tend to blame their bad eating habits on the cost of healthier food options but in reality, buying healthier foods does not cost much more than other junk food the average person buys. Therefore, Americans need and deserve to be educated in the long term effects of the current lifestyle they are living.

In order for someone to be considered obese they must have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 percent or higher (CDC). Recent studies show that "nearly two-thirds of adults are at an unhealthy weight" (Cha). The dramatic increase of obese Americans took place just over a time period of 20 years and is at a steady incline. Based on the data collected, there was no difference in the trend of obesity in younger generations compared to older ones. This proves that the younger generations are following in the footsteps of their parents and/or role models. Ariana Cha of The Washington Post explains that programs such as Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" campaign have already been put into place in schools to educate kids of all ages on the purpose of living a healthy lifestyle, staying active, and maintaining a well-rounded diet. By analyzing the study from 2012, researchers found that "75 percent of men and 67 percent of women ages 25 and older are now overweight or obese ... and is a depressing sign that campaigns to get Americans to eat healthier and exercise more may be failing" (Cha). With these programs failing, more action needs to take place on the issue and the general focus of who to target also needs to be changed. Since 1960, the average person has gained more than 24 pounds (Cha). Statistics like these are proof that America's overall health is gradually going downhill.

Clearly obesity leads to numerous potential deadly diseases later on in a person's life-but what other factors does weight gain effect in terms of lifestyle? Victoria Stillwell of Bloomberg Business' website analyzes multiple factors that being obese effects on a daily basis of a person's life. First and foremost, costs begin to rise in many areas of someone's life as they step into the obese side of the scale. Medical costs increased to "about $3,508 a year for each obese person" (Stilwell). This price includes doctor appointments, extra prescriptions, and other health care expenses. These extra expenses are dollars that could easily be spent elsewhere but because people live an unhealthy lifestyle they are forced to spend their money on their diseases and health related issues. From there, becoming obese is known to cause even worse health issues in the future such as diabetes, heart conditions and/or attacks, and cancers. Treating these diseases costs high amounts of dollars and is " ... usually paid by private and public health insurance" (Stilwell). Private and public health insurances are not paid by individuals, everyone pays them. Meaning other citizens that are not considered to be obese, are paying for overweight people with diabetes to be treated. It is unfair for those living a healthy lifestyle to have to pay for those choosing not to. 

Another point Stilwell makes is the levels of productivity people begin putting into their jobs decreases with weight gain which then leads to lower earnings. It has been found that "Obese employees miss an extra 1.1 to 1.7 days of work a year compared to their normal-weight counterpart" (Stilwell). For example, if an employee that is considered to be obese misses these extra work days, they are still getting paid, in turn costing their company money for work not getting done. Individually, obesity has the potential to limit a person's physical ability to perform certain tasks. If a job requires a person to be in a healthy condition and they begin to gain weight and becoming unproductive they run the risk of losing their job completely. So, obesity effects more than just the medical side of the spectrum. After all, how is it possible for someone to be economically stable if they have to pay all the extra expenses while lowering their earnings at the same time?

While these factors are greatly affected by obesity, it is obvious that cost is affected the most and the rising trends are not slowing down any time soon. Health insurance for Americans considered overweight or obese have sky rocketed over the past two decades. It is stated that "The health care reform laws of 2010 allow employers to charge obese employees up to 30% or higher for insurance if said employees opt out of wellness programs" (Carroll). No wonder individuals are beginning to struggle financially after upping their scale number. On a National level, the increasing costs of health insurance are only hurting the United States' economy even more-forcing the focus of expenses onto areas that should not be a major priority. Studies show that "The U.S. spent more than $8,000 per person on health care in 2012 ... more than 2.5 times the OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] average for national health care spending per person, a trend that fits as the U.S. has the highest obesity rate of any OECD nation" (Carroll). These dollars could easily be spent in other areas of the economy that need it more just by fixing the country's obesity crisis-areas like education, transportation, and even budget balancing (Carroll). But, if health care costs continue to increase to this extent, these other expenses will eventually have to be put at the bottom of the priority list. At its current economic state, the United States cannot afford for health insurance costs to rise any more than they are. 

On the subject of cost and money, overweight people have the tendency to blame their weight gain on the cost of healthier foods but how do they know this for sure? Most people will compare the cost of a bag of chips to the cost of chicken or some type of meat-obviously the meat will cost significantly more than chips. But why can't the person put down the bag of chips and opt to buy frozen grilled chicken instead of fresh? Americans need to stop comparing the cost of the high end proteins to cheap junk food because it is obvious that the meat will cost more. Instead of comparing these two items, they should compare the price of the fresh chicken to the frozen chicken. An experiment similar to this example was carried out by celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow and a group of researchers to prove that eating healthier does not cost significantly larger than the amount of junk food the average American buys. Gwyneth decided to experiment and put herself on a plant-based diet with the budget of $1.38 per meal, the equivalence to food stamps. Gwyneth did not cut meat out completely but her diet did consist of mainly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Instead of buying fresh produce and protein, she reverted to frozen and canned goods because the researchers found that " ... frozen and canned produce can be a way to minimize cost while still maintaining nutrient content" (Swerdloff). This is an easy way to stay on budget but still consume a well-rounded diet. By replacing these items along with using extra virgin olive oil, Paltrow was able to conclude that eating healthy is not as expensive as people may think if they know how to shop and alter their eating habits to fit their budgeting needs. It was also found that by altering themselves to " ... a less meat-intensive diet, people can save money and avoid the nasty diseases -- type 2 diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer -- that heavy meat consumption is related to" (Swerdloff). So, in a way, it is killing two birds with one stone; no risks for certain diseases and a balanced diet while staying on budget. The group also concluded that most people believe this myth because they go straight for the meat section when buying their groceries. It is no secret that meats are the most expensive part of the grocery store so why would someone blow a big portion of their budget on the first thing they buy? Mary Flynn, a research dietitian involved with the experiment, says that other produce should be bought before meats since they are a larger percentage of what a well-rounded diet should consist of. In conclusion to this experiment, America has no excuse anymore for not having the ability to choose healthy options over unhealthy ones. The only obstacle standing in the way of a change in a person's lifestyle is simply self-control.

The main problem with America's obesity crisis is that most citizens are not educated on the subject well enough to know the hole they are continuously digging themselves into with every bite. Organizations such as Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" campaign and WHO (World Health Organization) have already attempted to solve the issue and revert America's weight gain. The World Health Organization's goal is to " ... advocate for health promotion and chronic disease prevention and control; promote health, especially for poor and disadvantaged populations; slow and reverse the adverse trends in the common chronic disease risk factors; and prevent premature deaths and avoidable disability due to major chronic diseases " (Barbour).  WHO was adopted in 2004 so it is apparent that their strategy has not made a difference on the national scale. They have done almost all they can by reaching out to people and attempting to educate them on ways they are able to make a difference in their own communities. They also support the "Initiatives by the food industry to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods and portion sizes" (Barbour). By limiting these bad portions of meals people would be able to lose weight almost instantly and reduce their risks of disease. Their attempts on the issue may have failed due to the country's stubbornness and independent viewpoint on changes in regulations that involve forcing them to change their personal lifestyles. People get so defensive when it comes to anyone telling them what to do, especially if it means telling them what they can and cannot eat. If people would have patience and listen to WHO's purpose and facts behind their doings, they could very well have a different opinion. WHO deserves recognition for their beliefs and purpose because they are only one of few programs attempting to fix the country's problem.

Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" movement made a huge impact on schools all around the country by taking out unhealthy vending machines and specific lunch items that students had the option to purchase. The first lady is able to make a huge impact on the Nation because she is able to have contact with the person containing the most power over the country. Her attempt at fixing the issue was directed towards the younger generations because they essentially are the future of America. She also aims her focus on younger generations by "...giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices; providing healthier foods in our schools; ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food; and, helping children become more physically active." (Let's Move). By taking action in each of these fields, she has educated millions of people on the nationwide issue, made a difference in individual communities by traveling to places that need to most support, and is continuously updating the website on the most recent activities taking place, accomplishments being made, and other ways everyone is able to be involved. Michelle Obama's way of taking action has by far impacted the entire country since she started it back in 2010.

When attempting to fix the country's obesity issue most people aim at the ones that are already considered obese. And while they are a big part of the problem, America needs to change its focus from the adults and zone in on the kids. Steven Olson's novel shows support of Michelle Obama's focus on children when he says "Integrating early care and education with public health and child health care systems would make efforts much more effective in helping children grow up healthy" (Olson). In order to complete the goal of creating a healthier environment for children, Olson argues that instead of volunteer programs, the country should incorporate certain policies and regulations to extend the initiatives. By doing so, schools would not have the choice to serve minors an unhealthy lunch and would eventually require them to be involved in physical activities inside of school. Olson's reasoning behind focusing on the younger generations is that it is harder to break bad habits that have been habits for years than it is to create new habits in kids that are still growing into adults. This makes sense because if someone has been doing a habit for even a few months, it can be almost impossible to break it without some sort of force or incentive. Whereas, if the focus is on schools and early education, these new and better habits will be what the children grow up around and will carry out later on in life.

Many people will argue against policies being put into place to fix America's obesity problem because they may not consider being overweight an unhealthy state. S. E. Smith argues this statement in her article first by saying, "Being fat is not a disease. Being fat does not necessarily cause disease. And the simplistic assumption that diet and exercise can be used to control weight needs to be thrown out" (Smith). She believes that other factors such as cholesterol, genetics, stress levels, and medication play larger roles in being overweight than diet and exercise. She also believes that "You can eat a healthy diet and still be fat" (Smith). Smith considers the BMI charts to be "flawed" because a person can maintain a healthy diet and stay a consistent weight, even if that weight is said to be "obese" on the chart. Her purpose for arguing this is to take away the stereotype that overweight people are lazy and unhealthy. 

Our country's obesity levels are steadily increasing and I believe that action needs to be taken place in order to lower American's risk of diseases later on in life as well as being able to live a longer, more active one. I think that Michelle Obama's focus is in the right area and that even though tons of people disagreed with her changing of school lunches, it needed to be done to give citizens a wakeup call. Americans have no clue how much obesity is impacting every single person and deserve to be educated on the subject and know how they can make a difference. Policies and regulations should be put into place in some areas in order to lower the number of obese Americans. If the rates decreased, I think people would be happier overall, enjoy life a little more, and the costs of health care would go down tremendously. If people knew that a healthy diet is able to be maintained even on the lowest wage possible I believe they would be even more motivated to change their lifestyles. Parents today want to be able to see their grandchildren when they grow older but if they are not taking care of themselves in the present, their future could easily be at stake consisting of potential heart attacks, diabetes, or cancer.

