America's weight problem!?

Question

It is obvious America has a HUGE problem with being over weight and obese. As an American I am truly disgusted with this laziness and the lackadaisical lifestyle our spoiled country has come to take in. How do you think we should resolve this issue and what should be done to correct this?

Answer 1

It's too late to correct it with education. Sure, we teach good nutrition in schools, but kids learn directly from their parents as role models and the parents are often ignorant. However, school cafeterias can take the lead in offering nothing but nutritious choices and eliminating soda sales on campus.

Texas has proposed to offer free gastric bypass surgery to morbidly obese adults, arguing that this approach would be cheaper than the health care costs of diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc. I doubt it will pass, and anyway, it treats the symptom and not the cause.

The only approach I can see is continued front page publicity. There seems to be a growing demand in America for healthy organic food, and a new movement for buying locally-grown food shows promise. We'll never eliminate the fast-food restaurants and convenience foods, but the more we can keep this issue in front of the public, the more we raise awareness. Perhaps there's some hope.

Edit: MichaelD's answer is inaccurate. Obesity-related diseases raise the cost of health care, and as a result everyone's insurance premiums rise. It's a universal concern!

Answer 2

It's definitely the food. The lack of exercise will not allow us to be Bruce Lee's.. but it's the food that is inflating us so huge. Some foods make your body's job easier, and some make it harder. Natural food does a lot more than people really know. A lot more than taste, satisfaction, and a stuffed stomach. For instance, blueberries improve memory, almonds and olive oil nourish the brain..when you get the full range and colors of natural foods, you can't go wrong. This + plenty of water + 200 minutes of exercise a week (that's less than 30 min a day..) = health. Exercise is a simple idea, it shouldn't be complicated by gyms trying to sell you memberships either. You can just stand in one place and move around any body part, and you're exercising. I work out with a 5 lb weight and just swing it around in any and every direction, and I break sweats and get sore. You just have to stay focused on what you're doing at the time. And stay away from all the garbage food, it's like putting 87 gas into a ferrari, it just doesn't make sense. The problem with this is, that the food companies make so much money from mass-producing this garbage that is basically killing us slowly and softly. That's why Mcdonald's uses the color yellow, associated with hapiness, so that we can kill ourselves with a smile. :)

Answer 3

It comes down to personal choice. In many years gone by, it was the community that governed things. Communities were smaller, work was harder, and everybody knew everybody. As things got more mechanized and then computerized, the work became easier and smarter. People were no longer qualified to work in their existing jobs.

Government stepped in with welfare. In its purist sense, it's not bad. However, people found that it was easier to not work and receive assistance. This attitude has permeated society today.

This sets the stage for what can be done. Absolutely nothing!!! Unless, the community sets the standard as in days gone by that being overweight/obese is against the law. Then and only then can something be done about it.

You can tax people on different things. You can require people to receive training or counseling. These won't work.

Some overweight/obese people out of their morality will seek to change and become healthier when it is against the law of the land. There are those that will care less. It is those people that you would have to incarcerate into fat camps and force them to lose weight. Then you would have certain groups come forward and say that it is cruel and unusual punishment.

Until the community steps forward and states that there is an acceptable lifestyle that is associated with weight, then things will remain as status quo.

Since weight gain is contributed to so many factors, it would be very difficult and a beauracratic nightmare to single out individual sources to tax or convict. Who knows; maybe we will have something such as contributing to the delinquency of a minor. It will be contributing to the obesity of a person.

Just my 2 cents.

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Answer 4

The first thing in my opinion is to start eating at home and not so much fast food. I have noticed that so many people eat 3 meals a day at fast food places, and restaurants! Alot of people just want to grab something instead of taking time to prepare food. Although I love cooking, I know alot of people think it is a chore.
After my husband had a heart attack when he was 42, we have totally changed. We may eat from a "fast" place maybe 4 times a year. Special occasions we will go to a restaurant, but we watch the cholesterol, sodium, and sugar content on what we are going to eat now. Sure, it is a challenge, but we want to be around to raise our kids.
Our kids took our eating change very hard, but they have adjusted now. I agree that we need to be more active.We need to do more (even walking helps) instead of watching so much TV. I also think that children need to do more active things in their lives and stay away from the TV and video games (because they are becoming couch potatoes at an early age). To change, we should start eating home cooked healthy foods and I would also say start with the schools feeding our kids more healthy foods too.
When you really think about it, our bodies only need food to fuel ourselves, so why indulge by stuffing ourselves too much, or putting bad foods that we can't even pronounce into our bodies.
This also would help people financially because it really is more cheaper to eat at home than fast food everyday!

Answer 5

In my honest opinion, the biggest problem is that it is cheaper to eat bad food, and it's more expensive and time consuming to prepare good food. Americans have a tough time finding enough time in there day. The first two things they do sacrifice is working out, and eating good food (usually resorting to eating out or grabbing fast food).

My solutions to this problem.

1. Put a tax on all processed food, encouraging more healthy food being bought.
2. Give extended lunch breaks at work so that people have more time to prepare healthy meals
3. All schools, work places, etc should have exercise part of the daily routine. (If a place of employment does not, maybe they can give a discount to a gym?).
4. Immediate intervention for those that get overweight

That's my stance.

Answer 6

I agree with a Casual Savage. I remember when Arnold Swartzenager had a thing going with this presidential fitness America campaign which I thought was great!! Promoting fitness to America!! So what we need to do is more commercials on fitness for those that are in front of the telly with a bowl of Ice-cream and shame them into fitness. I remember in the Corp. when the drill instructor barked orders for you to run, YOU RAN!!!

Answer 7

In America we are free, free to work, play, educate and abuse our bodies. Abuse with food, alcohol, cigarettes... but not the drugs that the government cannot tax. I agree that the fast food industry has given us the immediate gratification food and put loads of "junk" in that food as fillers. It's an addiction just as much as any other drug. If we as individual, almost free-thinking (marketing has taken the majority of our free-thinking away, why do you think our young ladies in America abuse their bodies by starvation) cannot see that when we look in a mirror what do you expect others can do for those that are blind to their own image? You really expect the health industry or the diet industry that is making billions off of obese america to do anything? You are dreaming. You cannot help an alcoholic or drug addict anymore than you can help a food addict that does not want the help. Marketing keeps people lazy.

Answer 8

LOL why does everyone in this country think its the US governments responsibility to fix their personal lives?

the Federal Governments responsibility starts and stops with foriegn policy and the maintaining of a standing army.
EVERYTHING else should be left to the states as written in the constitution.

Fat azzed lazy people need to take responsibility for their own health.
same with business
immigration
health
retirement
and every other facet of life.

let our GOVERNMENT get back to Governing.

not the BUSINESS of governing, but governing.
and OUT of social security, healthcare, charities and every other facet of life they are ILLEGALLY doing.

Answer 9

I agree with the other 2 answers and would like to add... Schools need to go back to doing PHYSICAL EDUCATION instead of Cup Stacking. Come on, I used to play ball, run around in the grass, climb on the play gound in PE. It was used to teach us a new sport or activity. Not just be a 30 min block that the class does EACH WEEK with a certified PE teacher. I was visiting my sons class and the school PE teacher came in the class room to do PE with them. They did cup stacking. The weather wasnt bad, she could have taken them out to do some physical exercise. But I see that as an easy way out. They also spend most of their PE time standing in lines waiting to jump rope or shoot a basket ball. Ok, dollar tree sells jump ropes every day.. You gonna tell me our schools cant afford 25 bucks at dollar tree for 25 jump ropes..... give me a break. I have my kids go outside and run, ride bikes, play ball, climb trees....

I have also noticed with my scouts that when we go camping I get the loudest SIGH when I tell them they cant bring the game boys and head phones. You would think I told them they couldnt bring their right arms. And they wear out so easily on the hikes and walks... its sad, honestly sad.

Answer 10

I'm convinced the problem lies with mass produced food. For too many years, food companies have been allowed to load foods with bleached carbs and partially hydrogenated fats, both of which are horrible for the body, and can't be digested properly. And parents (now in their 50's) taught their kids to eat this stuff because it was cheap. Now, something like 70% of 1-year-olds eat french fries at least once a day! We need to change the type of foods we buy, and get government subsidies to allow healthier foods to be cheaper.