The Cause of Obesity in America

A cause/effect paper from College Bound Comp

63% of Americans today are overweight or obese.  That is a big number!  What is at the root of this problem you may ask? There are many roots, but I believe that most of them are just a bunch of bad habits.
    Now some of the causes cannot be helped.  For instance, how fast your metabolism is or if you have health problems (thyroid problems can make you gain weight).  But others, on the other hand, are completely preventable.
    One cause is that kids maintain bad diets.  Many homes have two parents that work full-time, which means no one has time to cook.  Most quick-cook meals or “microwave dinners” have little nutritious content, if any.  The food industries are doing a better job of making healthier meals (ex. healthy choice or lean pockets), but the healthy foods don’t always appeal to kids.  Also, in these tough economic times, families don’t want to spend too much on groceries.  The fresh fruits and vegetables get to be expensive so why waste money on them? Because they are good for you!
Families also order out and eat at fast food restaurants more than they used to.  Not only do many restaurants make unhealthy food, they give you way too much.  You can eat nutritious meals and still be overweight.  How can this be? Proportion size!  People pile their plates high because they are “starving” and then they shovel it in so fast that they don’t even realize they are full.  I believe that buffets are the worst! Everyone loves them because they have variety.  Yes, variety is great but what isn’t, is the number of trips people can make back and forth from their table to get more and more food.  
On the lines of eating, it doesn’t even need to be proven that eating is a type of “coping” with pain: kids who are bullied, women going through breakups, etc.  Chocolate, cookie dough, and icing are the best, need I say more?
Now, traditions and eating habits are definitely part of the problem, but lets talk about some others.  Has anyone else noticed that society is becoming lazier?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, creating is a great thing, but how many people do you know who will hunt around the whole room just to find the remote when they could just get off their rears and change the channel.  There is no excuse for that.  People getting mad because they can’t park close, driving a block away just to pick up their kid and texting someone in the next room are a few examples of abusing some great inventions.  
Only 50% of Americans exercise regularly.  To stay fit, you are supposed to get 2 ½ hours a week.  That’s 30 minutes a day!  I am definitely not pointing any fingers because I will admit to not getting near enough exercise and I�"like many others�"will use the excuse that I am too busy.  I know, pathetic, right? How many of us are actually too busy?  Probably very few.  For Christmas this year I bet that over half of the guys in this country asked for some type of game or gaming device.  It won’t hurt us any to get off the couch and away from the gaming and walk around the block.  My favorite way to exercise is to go walking in the park with some music.   The United States used to be a nation of hard work and if you didn’t work hard, then you just didn’t make it.  Now, you will hear a chorus of whining if you tell a group of students to stand up.  That barely takes an ounce of energy and we probably burn more calories by whining then actually getting up.  Many moms are so tired when they get home that they just plop their kids down in front of the TV so that they can make dinner.  It does take more energy to take them outside and play but will it be more important in the long run?  Are you instilling habits in your kids that won’t be broken?
I hope that I have answered the question by now.  I believe that America’s obesity problem is just the effect of: eating unhealthy food, eating too much, and not exercising enough.  I also think that fixing the problem could be as little as families teaching the upcoming generation to work hard and eat well.