Obesity Rate In America

   America is fat, especially in seven states: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia which now exceed 35% obesity according to the American Medical Association.

   These states are the fattest of the states because the people are either not as productive so they don’t lose as many calories, or they just eat more unhealthy foods than other states such as: Arkansas or Alabama. Also food manufacturers are allowed to sell more of their unhealthy products to stores than in other states.

   Obesity could have long-term effects on our country like diabetes. Nine out of ten states in the South have the highest Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is basically just a milder form of Type 2 diabetes because Type 2 diabetes is more of a non-insulin-dependent diabetes, meaning it doesn’t use insulin injections when being treated because high levels of it circulates in the blood, instead they use antidiabetic medications such as Metformin.

    A record of 40% of Americans now live with diabetes or prediabetes, and around one hundred million people are suffering from  it. 30% or more of those people will most likely have type 2 diabetes.

   Some causes of obesity can be just from the lifestyle, either being lazy or eating very unhealthily. Some cases are that one inherited it, obesity through genetics.

   “I think that a lot of people are obese,” said Luke Lansciardi a PVHS student, adding that, “we should work out more.” Only about 23% of all U.S. adults get the recommended exercise per week. Most healthy adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, but most people get far less than that.

   Some unhealthy foods and drinks we should stop eating include soda, candy, desserts like Twinkies, Little Debbie’s, Zebra Cakes, Zingers, etc. Working out more and not eating these unhealthy foods can lead to a much greater lifestyle. We could definitely follow in the steps of many celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg or Will Smith, as they are in the top charts for being some of the fittest celebrities.

   High school students who are obese range from 9.5% in Colorado(the skinniest state) to 21.7% in Arkansas(the fattest state). Study’s show that this is the first generation of people who won’t outlive their parents.

   Tristan Coleman, a PVHS junior said, “I believe that obesity is a rising epidemic due to the fact that Americans portions are substantially larger than other countries.” In fact, over the last 40 years, Americans portion sizes have increased. For a regular 6” Italian BMT from Subway, Americans consume more calories than countries like the UK or Australia who ate the same 6” Italian BMT. The U.S. consumes 23 more calories in the Italian BMT than the UK. Americans now consume 300 more calories than they did during the 1900’s.

   Obesity in the early 2000’s was around 9% for adults and 5% for youths and has continued to rise since then according to Niall McCarthy, a statista journalist from forbes.com. We should take action to promote U.S. residents to work out more and live a healthier life so more people don’t end up with diseases like diabetes, glaucoma, or Grave’s Disease. 

   “People should lift weights or run more if they don’t want to be obese,” said PVHS student Christian Santistevan, and added that “they shouldn’t pick unhealthy foods if they are trying to lose weight.” Foods that are high in fat like most fast food places are not good for you.

   Overall, we should definitely get more exercise, eat healthy, and encourage a healthier lifestyle by following guidelines and goals set by yourself, for everyone in our country, this could include using devices like fitbits to track your calorie loss or hiring a personal trainer. If a whole country can work together to win World War II, then how come the country can’t work together to stop being fat?