Bennett Eldredge
Mrs. Straub
Insight Econ
Feb 16, 2016
America is Fat
Rising obesity rates alone have the capability of hindering the United States of America’s self proclaimed title as the greatest country on earth. Well, not really. The US is, and will remain, the greatest country on earth; regardless of the amount of overweight people. But that doesn't mean this epidemic can be taken lightly. The United States must make a private/public combined effort to effectively combat grossly high obesity rates.
In comparing obesity rates we do recognize the fact that these numbers are only as accurate as the bmi test itself. Consider bmi as a function of weight over height. After research and sampling a threshold is set; a ratio that defines where healthy stops and obese begins. Today that number is 25 (“Obesity”) (this number sounds high but there are other factors that go into the formula as well). Unfortunately this system makes mistakes. Consider “the rock”, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or your favorite NFL running back. Their ratios of weight to height often fall above that threshold. Are they unhealthy? Of course not, but the bmi would say they are. For the sake of this paper we will assume that the number of people that fit into that category is insignificant; meaning it is too small to have any major effects on the obesity rate of the whole population.
With that out of the way we can begin to discuss the number of people considered overweight in the US. Take a guess. What percent of the United States population do you think is overweight? 40%? 50%? The answer is 69%. But that is just overweight, not obesity. The US has an obesity rate, of 35%. That means that 2 out of every 3 people in the US are overweight and 1 out of 3 people are obese (“Obesity”). That’s really bad. In fact, that is worse than every other developed country in the world. The chart below compares the US obesity rates in 2008 to other countries. The data used above are statistics from four years later in 2012.
They say not to compare yourselves to others. The true measure of success or progress is a comparison with ones self. So let’s focus on us, not the other developing nations we compete with. It’s even worse! Below is a chart produced by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
From 1960-2012 we have experienced an increase in obesity rates of almost 30%. That is ridiculous. Coincidentally, the fast food market also exploded during this time period. In 1960 McDonalds had 100 franchises in operation around the US. Today they have over 14,000 (“McDonalds”) . That is just McDonalds, that does not include all of the other fast food franchises that have emerged. The US government has to take drastic action to combat this epidemic.
They key to an effective solution is a change in demand. Not a change in aggregate demand, but a shift of demand from one market to another. In this shift there is a winner and a loser. The loser, is the fast food market. Offering more healthy options may help dampen the eventual loss in demand, but it will not stop it. Either way the change will create a surplus in the fast food market. The demand will likely move to other health oriented markets. Possible options include supplemental markets, grocery store markets, and fitness markets. Although unlikely, this effect could happen naturally without government intervention. As a major determinant of demand, changes in beliefs in American society have the potential to help drive this change. Younger generations have began to adopt a more health oriented lifestyle. Boomers are beginning to exercise more due to its positive effects on aging. The change is happening, slowly. Consumer education is the most important factor in speeding it up. Consumers need to be educated on the effects of a healthy lifestyle and more importantly, the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.
The change can happen. I do acknowledge that I may be overly optimistic, but I feel as though this change has begun. America as a whole will go back to a more healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle that is better for citizens. A lifestyle that leaves no question about who the greatest country on earth is.
Works Cited
"McDonald's North America Restaurants by Country 2014 | Statistic."Statista. Statista, 2016. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Obesity and Overweight." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, 1960–1962 Through 2011–2012." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
I share your optimism about the future and how people can start to better themselves by exercising and eating healthy. Something that won't help the obesity rates go down is the extremely low prices places like McDonalds can charge for a burger. Compared to what organic healthy foods cost. People like good deals, that's in part why they go to fast food restaurants, because it is cheap and fast. If there was a way for healthy restaurants like Subway or just healthy organic food in general to lower their prices, I think that would help combat the obesity rates in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that there is a problem with how fat people are in America. And I also think that we should do something about it and try and change that so that we are not the fattest country. But on the other hand it is very hard to control what people eat and what they do with them selves every days. Therefore I do think we need to make a change but making that change is going to be one hard task to complete.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope you're right and the situation will improve without a crisis occurring first. Unfortunately, while there is certainly a section of the population that is improving on its own. It seems to me that the majority will only be slowed at best in their decline from consumer education. Eventually there will be an increase in the prevalence of diabetes and other diseases related to weight large enough it can't be ignored, and that should be enough to shock the general population into actively making progress towards a healthier lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that the U.S has the highest obesity rate in the world. Your bruiting about a country that is riddled with businesses that sell processed food, fast food, high in sugar, calories, beverages, etc. I do believe people should be more concerned with their obesity. I know their are people that are probably fine with being obese, but I believe everyone's life would be better if they were less obese.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we should eliminate the amount of fast food restaurants. They are slowly destroying people, health wise. America has always been known as the home of hard workers, because back in the day we worked hard and achieved great things and didn’t get offended by what everyone said. Yes the obesity rate is rising and won't stop unless everyone takes a stand. I have always been a person that loves fitness and that is one reason why I want to be a person trainer to help other people feel as great as I do and I know other healthy active people are. There needs to be a change but it won’t happen unless we, the people, stand up and fight against obesity.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is a big problem in the US with people being overweight and obese. However, I don’t think that consumer education is the issue. Kids are taught starting in elementary school about the food pyramid and what they should and shouldn’t be eating. This knowledge is reinforced sometimes throughout middle and high school, so Americans should be very familiar with what is healthy.
ReplyDeleteThis is very well written and gives some astonishing facts such as one out of every three people in the US are obese. I believe we should stray away from going to fast food “restaurants” in order to get a cheap meal because in the end of the day, it’s much more beneficial to our bodies to make food at home. I certainly hope that in the future more healthier options come out and overwhelm the fast food industry but the one thing that would prohibit that would be the prices of fast food and the convenience. There’s nothing wrong with getting fast food once in a blue moon but every day is a bit concerning. It’s going to take a lot of will power to hold yourself back from the vicious cycle which is fast food but it’s very important for our future generations that we do because we don’t want to encourage this unhealthy lifestyle that’s been going on over the last years.
ReplyDeleteI think the rapid service of fast food is killing America. People have become less patient and expecting more and more out of people rapidly. Furthermore America's obesity rates have been climbing at an alarming rate. We as a nation need to place restrictions and regulations on fast food change to help promote healthy eating. Nowadays people are looking for quick ways to lose the quick food. This is sometimes more the worse then the food that they are eating. So this whole fast food craze, has created much more issues than just obesity. In conclusion, fast food chains need to be regulated or we will be a nation of fat people looking for quick ways to lose the weight damaging their bodies even more.
ReplyDeleteObviously the unhealthy lifestyle of the US is a problem that many people say we need to solve, some people say that the government needs to start regulating food more closely but honestly that does not make a difference, the foods today that say 30% less fat are just filled with chemicals. If the US wants to change the mentality of the people need to change as well. The regulating of food will not do it, the addition of more gyms will not do it, it is us who will do it.
ReplyDeleteObviously the unhealthy lifestyle of the US is a problem that many people say we need to solve, some people say that the government needs to start regulating food more closely but honestly that does not make a difference, the foods today that say 30% less fat are just filled with chemicals. If the US wants to change the mentality of the people need to change as well. The regulating of food will not do it, the addition of more gyms will not do it, it is us who will do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that the obesity rate in America is high and that we should do something about it. The amount of obesity people in the US is so high and it will result in further harm if it isn't going to go down in later years. Fast food people know that the outcome of what they are giving people, and the speed at which they give it keeps people coming back. It's all about money, not the consumers health.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the BMI calculator doesn't accurately portray our weight, but it gives an estimate on how to measure where you're at. America has a dangerous obesity epidemic and the facts are simple, we need to make a significant change. Your facts about how 1 and 3 Americans are overweight, and how many McDonald's are in our country is eye opening. It's hard to change your eating habits when you have these negative influences all around you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your position on this topic, but I think that the solution is much harder than most people think. Americans that are overweight and obese are well aware of the fact that they are hurting themselves, but they will continue their eating habits. I also think that just be decreasing the demand for fast food you won't significantly change the percent of overweight people in America as people can still have unhealthy eating habits and cook all their meals at home. Another area where Americans are severely behind is physical activity. While some may claim that they don't like physical activity it is a necessity. Americans are so absorbed in their TV shows and other forms of entertainment that they claim there is no time for any activity, but they obviously have the time to exercise. That being said I think the best way to get people to get in shape would be to make the utility gained from being fit and healthy higher than the utility that they gain from watching entertainment. Even now I think the utility gained from living longer and healthier should be enough to get people to realize they need to change.
ReplyDeleteBennett, I really like the topic that you choose, and I too believe it is a rising concern in America and should not be taken lightly. One thing that I would like to add is the price differentiation between healthy and unhealthy products. This mainly seems to impact lower income households where unhealthy food options are more practical, because it is cheaper to buy unhealthy foods, but one will also get more at the same time. This is the case at both fast food restaurants, but also grocery stores. One thing to reduce this gap between prices would be for the government to offer incentives to companies that produce healthy products to lower the cost of their goods so that everyone can afford them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how you presented this topic. We are becoming too lax as a nation to the point where we might not be the same great nation we are today sometime in the future. Based on your data it looks like we are only gaining weight. If the trend keeps up the future shown in Wall-E, where we all are just fat people moving around in floating chairs ignoring the actual life going on around us, might become a reality.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the fact that you are saying America is by far overweight. And with the average person eating crap consistently and not having a care of what they put into their bodies, of course this will be the case. Although, you can assume that a lot of this population is not able to afford healthier foods because of the expenses that come with this, those who can help their weight by just eating fruits and veggies and healthy carbs will not only benefit themselves, but also the economy and health of our environment.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the fact that you are saying America is by far overweight. And with the average person eating crap consistently and not having a care of what they put into their bodies, of course this will be the case. Although, you can assume that a lot of this population is not able to afford healthier foods because of the expenses that come with this, those who can help their weight by just eating fruits and veggies and healthy carbs will not only benefit themselves, but also the economy and health of our environment.
ReplyDeleteI like your optimistic stance on this issue, because I agree that the obesity rates in the US are something that we can work to combat. I also agree that this is something that should be done without government intervention. I think that one of the main roots of this problem is the low expense and ease at which fast foods and frozen, processed foods can be obtained. Healthier selections, such as fresh fruits and veggies, come at a higher cost, and for many families in the US, this is a struggle. For them, they see that it is easier to spend $10 on a quick and easy meal than to spend over $10 on the ingredients that go into making a healthy meal. This is something that should definitly be factored in when planning ways to combat obesity in the US.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is utterly disappointing how out of hand it has gotten. From what I can tell your proposed solution is more education based. Educating the populous on what being healthy can do for themselves rather than making the easy choice to pull of on an exit and pick something quick up on the way home. But to really combat this issue, which I know you won't like, there needs to be some sort of government intervention to regulate the amount of restaurants/ concentration of restaurants in certain areas. Sure these places might become more scare and thus make their products that much "better" in the eye of an obese child but it'll make it a lot harder for someone to have the option to pull off of the freeway every mile to get their next fix.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your topic completely, that America needs help with Obesity. First off I think people who our "overweight" and or "Obese" Know that but sense they already see them selves as that they wont go out and change it. Why I think this is because when i'm watching TV or at a restaurant they don't try and sell things that our healthy most of the time they try and convince you to eat the fatty food,which most of the time is good tasting food. Also like you said in your post Fast Food companies have had tremendous growth from going in the hundreds to the thousands and even higher and I do believe America is the best country but we do need help when it comes to becoming a healthier country
ReplyDeleteI agree, Obesity is a noticeable problem, but one of the ways to solve it is how food is sold. If you were to go to a Pick N Save for example, and you want Mountain Dew. You can get a small bottle for about 1.75. But then if you got a liter bottle of MD, that costs roughly 1.35, cheaper than the smaller one. That's another large factor into why Americans are obese, the less healthy items are cheaper than the healthy items.
ReplyDelete-Jackson Wolf
DeleteAlthough I strongly disagree with the US being the best country in the world, I would have to agree that the obesity rates are way too high and we should address this by self evaluation; not by the comparison of other countries. I am also very optimistic about the US becoming healthier by working out more and watching what they eat. Child obesity is another huge problem and we need to educate people at a young age about how to take care of their bodies. We all see this beginning to happen with the change with the public school lunch rules and regulations. Although most of us do not like these regulations, I feel like it is a very important concept.
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest here, it's not entirely the number of fast food restaurants, it's also that people are just plain lazy or don't care about the effects their lifestyle may have on them. Yes I agree the fast food could be better, but even if all the fast food places magically converted to healthy food, it would still be up to us as citizens to get off our "couch" and stop "watching TV" (Substitute Couch and TV for something else) that's the first step, the second step would be to exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It isn't just, remove or change one thing and the real number of obese people will go down. It is on us.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that our country gets a bad name from our obesity rates. As a country I believe that we have to start making some changes to help decrease our obesity rate and even our overweight rate. In the United States our poverty rate is 15.1% which is means that 1.5 out of every 10 people are living in poverty and aren’t making enough money to be able to support themselves. With the popularity of fast food restaurants including: McDonald's, Burger King, and Hardee’s, people are starting to eat at these places because of the cheap options. At Mcdonalds they have the dollar-menu which is a way for many people with low amounts of income to be able to help themselves and maybe even their family for a cheap price of $4 to $5. Many items on the Mcdonalds menu are huge in the amount of calories and fat. For instance, two mcdoubles off of the dollar menu run you 780 calories and around 46g of fat. To decrease the amount of obese people in our nation, the government should start to examine and keep up to dated on what the restaurants are selling and how many calories are in the items. Finally, I would have to say that I agree with you and truly believe that “America is fat” and that as a country we have to change our ways to decrease the overweight rate which is 2 out of every 3 people.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to obesity in America there are many flaws that make it inaccurate. As you mentioned the BMI, since it just gives a number of weather you fit into the underweight,average, or overweight category. But, I think that it will take a while for the nation to go back into a healthy lifestyle, even when given their BMI. One major block way is with all the fast foods. Many people want to get healthier, but people with a low income will have a harder time to pay for healthier options at stores since those products tend to be pricier than the cost of cheeseburger and fries at McDonald's. So either way it will take time for people to actually be committed into having a healthier lifestyle or fast food serving healthier options.
ReplyDeleteWow. That was incredibly well-written. You pulled up great stats, used excellent economic terms, and stated your opinion clearly with factual support and common sense. I believe you are correct in the fact that America will get healthier. However for the sake of playing devil’s advocate, I do have some food for thought. Is this change towards a healthier lifestyle simply reflecting a growing population? Let’s say Country X’s population is 100 million, and 35 million are obese. Now say the population doubles to 200 million due to a baby boom and a huge influx of immigrants. Now 60 million are obese. Though there was a net decrease in the percentage of obese people, the issue isn’t getting better. The percentage is simply getting diluted. Well, we are also faced with a growing population. We have to start wondering if the numbers are really trending towards health because of a change of food choice, or a change of population. If the dilution scenario is happening, then maybe government involvement is necessary. But it’s just something to think about. Maybe it isn’t happening this way.
ReplyDelete-Martin Mueller
I don’t think you were being too optimistic about the country’s steps towards becoming healthier because it is an exciting occurrence. Being healthier makes you live longer and feel better and although Americans can be seen as very lazy, the overall population is also good at wanting to outdo other countries enough to start exercising to be the healthiest nation. In a country that’s so competitive, these graphs would be very effective to show to obese and unhealthy people because it might motivate them to try to be better and healthier than France, Japan and the other listed countries. Overall I think this paper was well structured, easy to understand and thoroughly informative about the problem of obesity in the United States.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that America is having a problem with obesity and being overweight, however I don't believe that eliminating the fast food industry is the right answer. I don't necessarily believe that eating is the problem, it is the lack of exercise. I believe this is the problem because if you aren't exercising you can't magically lose weight. I know eating and exercise go hand in hand but, eating healthy when you are obese isn't going to make you lose weight, it is all the effort you are putting towards exercising will. In addition the people need to make the change by themselves, people need to realize that in order to fight this problem is by exercising. However, overall your piece was well written and had some eye opening facts, but the answer is in the exercise not the food.
ReplyDeleteI do believe obesity is a big issue in today's society. However I don’t think of it as a national problem yet a world wide problem. Now that there are fast food chains such as Mcdonald's globally more and more countries are getting fat. However I do believe that the U.s is making a positive change in eating habits recently. In the past 3-4 years I have seen a major demand of more organic stores such as whole foods. In addition to people now picking organic over fast food, I have also seen a heightened interest in healthy living such as veganism and vegetarianism. Overall I believe that the u.s is slowly heading in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI like your optimistic stance on this issue, because I agree that the obesity rates in the US are something that we can work to combat. I also agree that this is something that should be done without government intervention. I think that one of the main roots of this problem is the low expense and ease at which fast foods and frozen, processed foods can be obtained. Healthier selections, such as fresh fruits and veggies, come at a higher cost, and for many families in the US, this is a struggle. For them, they see that it is easier to spend $10 on a quick and easy meal than to spend over $10 on the ingredients that go into making a healthy meal. This is something that should definitly be factored in when planning ways to combat obesity in the US.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very well written piece on obesity. I do agree with how the bmi test is usually a bunch of crap. For my height and weight and I fall into the obese category which I definitely do not agree with. What I also agree with somewhat is your look of optimism. One large contributor to obesity is the unemployment rate. When more people are unemployed more are receiving benefits from the government. These benefits are usually not enough for them to buy sufficient and healthy food due to it being more expensive. Instead, they get lots of processed food which only adds to the amount of unhealthy things consumed. Since the unemployment rate has been dropping we have an opportunity to lower our obesity rate. This will involve work from those larger but many now have jobs to start buying healthier food or getting a gym membership. Even if they don't want to spend money on that they can easily run outside. If the economy stays how it is now or even improves more we will have a great opportunity to reduce obesity.
ReplyDeleteObesity is a big problem in the United States at this time. The idea of switching aggregate demand to the left or into other markets would be really good for the health of US citizens. If educating the people on healthy food choices isn't enough, they government could put a higher tax on unhealthy foods. Although it might not stop consumers from still purchasing, it could help even out our obesity rate and eventually it could decrease. I agree that there is hope to help make the citizens of the country more healthier.
ReplyDeleteThis piece did a great job of bringing statistics in order to recognize the need for a decrease in the obesity rate. I agree with Ryan that treating unhealthy foods like other products, such as cigarettes, would be beneficial in reducing the demand for these types of food. While there are current restrictions in the food business, there is definitely room to improve. If the government really wants to improve our general health, they have the capability to do so. Nice job and I too hope to see improvement in the obesity levels in our country.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the idea of shifting aggregate demand to the left would be great for the obese US citizens and US citizens in general. There has been a lot of education lately about the problems of fast food, and obviously Michelle Obama has given some efforts towards making school lunches healthier. Hopefully as the knowledge and education gets more and more prevalent in society, people will actually realize how harmful eating unhealthy can be. America can definitely reduce obesity, but it cannot just happen on its own.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you incorporated graphs to supplement your argument You really convinced me that America is facing a growing problem. Pun intended. I wonder though how much of obesity is caused by a surplus of fast food, rather than the demand for cheap food in general, and how much more unhealthy it is compared to fresh, higher quality foods. Either way, I think you did a good job, and hopefully we can solve this soon.
ReplyDeleteThere has definitely been a trend between the increase in obesity and fast food restaurants. This trend could also relate to the rising cost of living in addition to economic recession. With fresh foods becoming more expensive, processed, less nutritious foods have become the option for more and more families. Combined with our sedentary lifestyle, this trend is only accelerated. However, with a decrease in the cost of transportation and of producing these fresh foods, this trend could at least be slowed.
ReplyDeleteI like how you had the readers understand that being overweight and obese are two different things. I also liked the way you introduced the topic, giving the reader a deep understanding of the problem of obesity in America. So would you say that healthy options would help the demand or no? It would depend on consumer expectations or wants. To the healthy demographic the demand would increase. For people who are more intrigued with unhealthy foods the demand would decrease for the production of healthier food options.
ReplyDeleteI like the conversational tone that your piece was presented with. The questions got us to thinking about the various ways to answer before providing us with visuals and facts that we would not have otherwise known. Part of the issue with fast food is that it is cheap, so that in low income areas, fast food is much more likely to be bought and sold than in areas with wealthier people. Hence, obesity can be correlated to the idea of wealth, in that with greater wealth, comes less obesity. At the same time, people with more wealth are better disposed to consume more food, as they are able to purchase more. It's like a double-bladed sword.
ReplyDelete