Americans Are Overweight

We often hear that Americans are overweight. Is it right? In my opinion, I believe that obesity is indeed a big problem in America because there are a lot of reliable evidences to support this fact, and the causes of this problem are hard to deal with.

Nowadays, there are a lot of researches about the weight condition of Americans. According to Judith Warner, writer of New York Times and the author of four books, address that there is a time when "two-third of American adults" and "17 percent of children and adolescents" are overweight or obese(401). Wil Haygood, newspaper writer and the author of several books, claims that "the national obesity rate for adults" is 24 percent; especially, "the obesity rate in Manchester" is as high as 52 percent(407). According to David Zinczenko, the editor-in-chief of Men's Health magazine, states that from 1994 to now, obesity related or type 2 diabetes have raised from 5 percent to at least 30 percent of all childhood cases(392). Moreover, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that the health care cost for diabetes has increase from $2.6 billion in 1969 to $100 billion a year today(392).

In the speech at the NAACP national convention in Kansas City, by comparing her childhood and the life of nowadays, children Michelle Obama points out the reasons that increase the obesity. While children in the past "walk to and from school every day", "recess twice a day in gym class twice a week", " no way we'd be allowed to lie around the house watching TV" so we "get up and play outside" (421), children nowadays "ride in a car or they're in a bus", "inside watch TV, video games, the Internet" (423). Moreover, she also states that not only their activities are different but also their meals do. Specifically, it is said that children in the past were rarely allowed to go out and eat dinner; they were also encouraged to eat vegetable. Vegetable became main food at that time. On the contrary, kids nowadays get used to "buying themselves sodas and pop and chips" on the way and after school (423). Children eat more but exercise less. Therefore, children are easily to gain weight.

In "don't blame the eater", David Zinczenko criticizes the fast food industry for making people become fat. At first glance, People might assume that fast food restaurant increases is totally not related to obesity. People can choose what they eat so they can eat healthy food instead of fast food. But on closer inspection, fast food restaurants dominate other healthy ones, "More than 13000 McDonald' restaurants (392). Are you ready to spend time on finding someplace to buy healthy food rather than sitting at McDonald and spend that time for other things? I am pretty sure that people will choose fast food because it is so convenient and