The obesity rate in this country has been steadily increasing throughout the past decades due to the lack of self-confidence, inactive life styles and the environment.  Obesity has become one of the highest health concerns in today’s society, with the risks of life-threatening diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes as well as many others.  With this being a rising epidemic, this society needs solutions such as government assistance with financial issues and the prices of food, a change in the media and how the world views the “average weight,” but also a change in the way and how much they eat at one sitting.

            With new technology coming out everyday it has been an uphill battle due to how easier life is becoming with these new devices.  Factors that have also contributed to the rise in obesity include increasingly larger food portion sizes, local community design and work schedules. There are plenty of ways this society can turn around their inactive lifestyle such as riding a bike to work, getting up from the couch and watching TV and doing something more efficient and equally as fun such as hiking, skiing or simply taking a stroll around your neighborhood.

            The United States has steadily increased the idea of portion size, becoming much larger than what should be considered the healthy amount.  Children with poorer appetite regulation may be more vulnerable to obesogenic dietary environments offering large food portions than other children. With this being said, there has been many experiments that have concluded that if children are brought up with a learned oversized portion size they will be more in risk for obesity later in life, if not sooner.  It is not unusual to get served an over flowing plate of food at a fast food restaurant and this idea needs to end!

            Many Americans do not have the financial stability to go to the grocery store and buy nutritious foods such as vegetables, whole grains and the rest of the five necessary food groups, so naturally they lean towards buying harmful cheaper food.  These problem can be solved with government assistance, why should fruits and vegetables be more expensive than a quarter ponder huge McDonalds burger?  The government could help by restricting the profit being made on nutritious foods to make them more affordable.

            Overall while the rise in obesity continues to be one of the most harmful health issues in today’s society, it can be prevented.  Obesity leads to serious life-threating risks so it is important to make a change. 

Stephanie Aboody