It was a little over a year ago that my mom told me that she was diagnosed with diabetes. It wasn’t taken seriously by the doctors or my family, and, to me, it was just another thing that she had to take medication for. However, since then it has gradually gotten worse, and more than that, her weight has increased at a rapid rate. The doctors are too afraid to tell her that she is overweight as am I and my family. It is a sensitive and uncomfortable topic. We are all aware of the pressing issues in our nation that are causing pain and controversy. They are brought up constantly in the media, protests on the street, personal blogs, social media, and in daily conversation. One topic that is greatly talked about is the rate of obesity in our country and how to become a healthier nation, yet it is one of the most pressing issues in our country. This is controversial because some people view it as an individual issue, while others see it as a national problem. And then there are those that do not see it as an issue at all. 

So should it be an issue? Is obesity something that we should acknowledge and take more seriously? America is the number one leading country in obesity among citizens. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, two out of every three adults are considered overweight, and one in three adults are obese. Furthermore, one third of children aged 6-19 are considered overweight. This is a problem. It is an individual problem, a national problem, a psychological problem, an industrial problem, and a political problem. 

Obesity is defined as an excess amount of body fat and is measured by Body Mass Index (BMI) – the . It is becoming more common to find large rates of obesity in the United States in people of the same economic strata. This is most likely because fatty and unhealthy foods are becoming much more affordable and accessible to everyone, so many people in the lower class simply can’t afford to eat healthy. As a college student, it is much easier to go through a drive-thru or heat up a bowl of Ramen noodles than to pay more for a meal that is healthier and more expensive. Because of the increase in overweightness in different groups altogether, obesity is moving away from becoming an individual issue and becoming something that should be addressed by American society. 

Americans consume far more calories a day than a healthy amount. Food has become ubiquitous and convenient, and the portion sizes offered keep getting larger. Soft drink consumption is also a tremendous factor in this issue, and Americans are consuming more and more every day. One article written by Shari Roan, an award-winning health writer, states “Americans have tripled their consumption of sugary beverages over the last four decades with the average size of drinks increasing from 6.5 to 8 ounces in the 1960s to as high as 64 ounces today (containing about 50 teaspoons of sugar).” (“The Fight Against Obesity) A 20-ounce bottle contains 250 calories of sugar, which is twice the recommended amount for an entire day. (Farley) This is incredible. What makes it even worse is that the larger drink you get, the cheaper it is! Why pay $1.50 at McDonald’s for a small cup of sweet tea when you can get a HUGE tea for 99₵? Or you can go to a gas station and get a large coke for cheaper than you could get a small cup, yet you go to a nicer or healthier restaurant and you’re required to pay for just a cup of water. Our businesses in America don’t exactly make it easy for us to pick the best healthy options, but rather market for us to keep consuming.

Thomas Farley, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, links the over-consumption of food with evolution. “In part, the marketing of food is successful because humans evolved through many more periods of food shortage than excess. Humans are biologically driven to store calories when they become available and are limited in their ability to refuse food. The placement of calorie-dense, ready-to-consume, inexpensive food and beverages at arm's reach inevitably leads to the consumption of additional calories.” It is also Farley that stated, “People's genes haven't changed. People haven't fundamentally changed. What has changed is our food environment. It is clear that an increase in calorie consumption is the major cause of the obesity epidemic.”

We are all aware of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. These disorders are taken very seriously and help is sought after immediately. However, binge-eating disorder is much more prevalent, yet it is not acknowledged as much or taken as seriously. Binge-eating is the most common eating disorder in America, occurring in 2.8% of citizens, or 1 in every 35 people. (Brody) Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are both given formal diagnoses by doctors, but binge-eating is not formally diagnosed. One lady shared her struggle with binge-eating disorder in the New York Times. “I was capable of consuming 3,000 calories a sitting. Many mornings I awakened to find partly chewed food still in my mouth…. I got fatter and fatter until I had gained a third more of my normal body weight, even though I was physically active.” (Brody) Another woman wrote “What is compulsive eating? It is my nemesis. It is my greatest enemy, my greatest fear, the specter that haunts my life and steals my serenity, that teaches me to hate myself - something I have treated as a "friend" for the last fifteen years without realizing how much I was betraying myself by continuing the ‘friendship.’” Our health system should take more action to preventing these kinds of stories. They are just as unhealthy and harmful to our body as anorexia and bulimia, and our obesity rate could decline tremendously if problems like this were acknowledged more often. 

There is also a decreasing amount of physical activity in America. More and more things are becoming accessible with the touch of a button, and hard work is not needed for most things anymore. Students now have the option to take their classes online, instead of walking to class. Americans have the option to order anything off the internet now, even food, instead of going to the store to find things. There are also many job opportunities that have the leisure of working from home. On the other hand, people are continuously getting busier and busier. Americans are becoming more consumed in their work. They spend long days in the office and return home to cook dinner for the family, run the kids to soccer practice, etc. During all this time, they might forget to eat meals and snack throughout the day, so when 11 o’clock at night rolls around, they are looking through the freezer for a frozen pizza that they can scarf down before bed. 

I realize that there are some people that would dispute against my argument that obesity should be taken more seriously. They claim that any regulation of the government for a healthier nation is stripping of individual freedom. Obesity is a personal issue that is unique to every individual. We as American citizens take much pride in our freedom. We fought for it two and a half centuries ago, and we have continued to fight for it to this day. We are not giving it up anytime soon. We are proud of our independence, and government intervention into personal lives is unacceptable. The government cannot tell us what we can and can’t eat or how much of it we eat. I completely agree with the people that argue this. However, my argument is that awareness of the rate of obesity in our country should be acknowledged much more than it is today, and healthier options should be more accessible. It is also my wish that there is simply more suggestions to a healthier lifestyle. 

I acknowledge that the government is not always the best at promoting healthier living, and often creates too much confusion as to whether this should be an issue to worry about in our country. In 2005, two statements were made by the Center for Disease Control. One stated that obesity kills over 400,000 Americans a year, making them the second leading cause of preventable death. The other statement they claimed in this same year was that obesity killed 26,000 Americans a year, which makes it much less significant than even more uncommon diseases such as nephritis and septicemia. (McIlroy, FOX News) These polar statistics allow for several different arguments to be made about obesity, whether it is to cause panic or make it less important compared to other issues. It makes it possible for obesity to be used as a political scam to sway people in either argument for election purposes or to increase funding. This is a problem in our government that we may never know the real facts. However, this does not make obesity less of an issue. 

While we are talking about politics, let’s consider this: America is the number one leading country in the world for obesity. What would our country look like if more of us were well and fit? Overweightness decreases people’s ability to work. Therefore, if our country was in better shape, our production rate would increase and stimulate our economy. Our reputation and respect from other nations would improve tremendously as well. 

There are also those that are seeking a “fat acceptance” across the nation to make being overweight the new normal, or just make it more acceptable. This movement is attempting to glorify overweight bodies. I am not opposed to body fat, and I do agree that everyone should be proud of who they are and what body type they have. However, I argue this because obesity has tremendous effects on the personal lives of people. For example, it harder to conceive and have children than women of a normal weight, and a study was recently published that when a couple who are both obese try to conceive, it could take from 55 to 59 percent longer to become pregnant. (Genetic Literacy Project) Being overweight also has a psychological impact on people that lowers their self-esteem and affects confidence to be successful. One psychological study associates childhood emotional abuse with eating disorders later on in life. Psychological abuse plays a role in self-criticism and low self-esteem stimulates unhealthy eating habits because of one not feeling good enough. The study found that emotional abuse, depression, and anxiety are positively correlated with binge-eating.  (Feinson & Tzipi Hornik-Lurie) Therefore, we would have a healthier society, mentally if we could lower obesity rates, and production would increase because of the increase in confidence levels. 

Studies show that the acknowledgement of one being overweight makes them more likely to lose weight in the future. One journal article published by the American Medical Association did a study that observed the effects of weight loss of overweight and obese individuals that had been told by a physician that they were overweight compared to those who hadn’t. The article concluded, “Among patients who were overweight or obese, patient reports of being told by a physician that they were overweight were associated with more realistic perceptions of the patients’ own weight, desire to lose weight, and recent attempts to lose weight.” (Post) 

Another way to solve the obesity epidemic is by the government discouraging the marketing of unhealthy foods and talk to food companies about altering their products and marketing strategies. The marketing of food is everywhere - whether we look on the television, driving down the road looking at billboards, on street corners, in magazines and newspapers, and all over the internet. We’ve seen some of this take place as fast food restaurants are now required to show the calories in each of their items on the menu. They have also begun to have a “healthier choice” menu as well. A simple way to address this issue is for the government to encourage a lower amount of sodium added to food in restaurants and lessening portion sizes of the meals and the sugary drinks served. 

A diagnosis of binge-eating disorder by doctors might also decrease obesity rates. Because food is so accessible and convenient, it is very easy to overeat and produce a love for food that is unhealthy. The acknowledgement of this problem and suggestion of a diet plan by doctors could help reduce this problem tremendously. The reason diet plans typically do not work out or last long is because they are so different that the person’s normal eating habits. Perhaps, doctors should suggest a simpler diet that bridges into healthier eating, making it less drastic and more gradual. This could help the patient to keep this diet for the rest of their life. 

The obesity epidemic is at a continuously increasing rate. It is becoming more and more common to be overweight. What would our country be like if we were all at a healthier state? If food was a necessity and not an activity. Our production rates would increase tremendously, our confidence as people would improve, we would live longer, etc. It is not something that is going to change in a day, possibly not even a lifetime. However, we can make a difference by becoming more aware of the effects obesity has on us as individuals and as a nation. 