Jocelyne Ayala

4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
Abstract
The U.S has been sentenced to be the most obese country in the world. Many may say it
is because of the overpriced healthy food and cheaper priced junk food, while another portion of
society may say its a choice. In this paper I will go over the reasons that may lead to the
approach of this epidemic. I will also have nutritional facts in other countries that differ from
ours that may also prove certain facts correct or incorrect. Obesity is not just an over eating
problem, it also brings an additional baggage that will also grasp the audiences attention to know.
Of course, without exercise we fault people of being Fat, but is it really because of the lack of
exercise? or are we the people really the ones leading them down that path? This paper will take
you through the known and unknown and will give you a better understanding on what obesity
really is.
Introduction
Obesity or being fat seems to be the new ugly now and days. People judge you by your
size, but never bother asking questions. The United states has a high rate of obese civilians but
better yet an even higher income from on the go restaurants. grocery stores seem to be receiving
an accurate income on their merchandise but are slightly lacking in the produce area. They seem
to be spending more on the cracker and cookie isles over the veggies and dairy products. Obesity
is more of what we perceive when we look at serving ratios, its sometimes a contest of who can
fill the plate the most but the results can sometimes lead to your death bed.

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
Is Obesity Really Just Caused by Overeating?
Everyone has their judgment on the obese community. They all are strong believers that
these types of people are big because of their bad eating habits and lack of exercise. The website
symptomfind made that clear to me, it stated that many do not have a choice but to be big but
they do have options in what they put through their bodies that can prevent them from becoming
some peoples laughing stalk. Many obese people suffer from medical conditions and the
medicine they take is what causes them to become the way they do. Others are affected by their
environment conditions, in other words sometimes not everyone has the commodities and
opportunities others have to eat healthy or even grocery shop so they eat what becomes
convenient for them as civilians.
When trying to avoid obesity, it is not all about watching what you eat but also being
aware of what some side effects are, also come in handy. For example pregnancy pills, one of the
side effects they give off is the gaining of weight. Sometimes women do not realize that and then
ask themselves why they have gained so much weight if they are not even pregnant. Injuries,
injuries also take part in obesity because when athletes or even regular people get injured they
tend to become very laid back and feel as if it is ok to immobilize themselves completely. If we
as injured people would ask our therapists for the correct recovering exercises then we would
probably not become as big as we tend to get as if we were to have gone on a mini vacation. Its
also all about perspective and what you define in yourself. We all have a choice in what we put in

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
our mouths and when you know sometimes its not the right choice and still swallow it, thats
when we start to enter a phase of overeating and self image problems. Calorie count plays an
important role in trying to keep a healthy eating diet and when consumed the right amount we
should feel replenished and energized
What are stats and number percentages when it comes to obesity?
When it comes to calculating everything out its very easy to just throw the U.S. under the
bus and call it the most obese, but when there is a first there is also a second place and a third
place. On the website U.S news Health talks about how the obesity rate is not only in the U.S.,
they mention that India and China make up fifteen percent of the worlds obese population, and
lets not leave behind the central american countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Costa Rica
where it is rising to a fifty seven percent obesity rate for the men and sixty five percent for the
women. If we were to take the increase rate from the 1980s to 2013 the increase ranges from
857 million to 2.1 billion, that is an increase of more than 145 percent.
When it comes to the younger generation the Journal of American Medical Association
(JAMA) states that over the yearly period from 2003- 2004 the obesity rate was not drastic at all.
As a matter of fact there was no change whatsoever but the society ranged from 2-19 was already
obese. Race also plays somewhat of a role just like the environmental conditions did. The
Hispanic race has the highest at 22.4%, then is followed by the black youth at 20.2% the white
folks lye at 14.6% meanwhile the asians lye at 8.6%. As we can all observe the asians have the

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
lower percentage of obesity rate. Is the fact that they don't eat as much really the answer why
they are not that Fat?
How does cultural difference affect the way we eat and gain weight?
Hispanics, specifically Salvadorians have a strange way of accompanying unhealthy side
foods with meals. It usually becomes a habit to eat in that way, and we usually accompany meals
with salty cheese or bittersweet cream. Those types of food, and many more carry a lot of greasy
oils that can do damage to the body system. Some potentially good habits that this culture brings
is that in ones countries the temperatures are outrageous, so sweating all that junk will not be a
problem, the problem only begins to form when we eat too excessively. The typical food usually
served in El Salvador is the pupusas the pupusas are a flour handmade tortilla filled with cheese
and pork that gets fried in an oven and baked until the oils get mix into a puddle that eventually
gets thrown out. When it comes to the more Asian culture, meat is almost non existence in their
diet, they do more of a fish diet in their main courses. White rice is also something that keeps
their diets and their metabolisms up to speed. Because they drink warm not cold but warm water
with their meals it gets there digestive system running and healthy. According to diet.com the
article asian diets, the lack of fiber never really seems to be a problem in there diet but their
sodium levels sometimes need to be regulated due to the sauces also tagged along in their diets.
When we bring up the African American culture, I cant help but to think about New
Orleans and Mardi Gras. Around these types of times we have Fat tuesday which is when they
have great dishes set out like jambalaya. Although these dishes are yummy and delicious, that

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
does not mean that they are healthy. Jambalaya has very greasy parts to it like the sausage and
shrimp which is high in cholesterol. When we have events like these, it is these things that make
us want to fill our plate to the top. We think of Fat tuesday as an excuse to legitimately be fat but
we can only fit so much in our bellies so however much we serve ourselves is strongly based on
what we perceive when we see our plates; Half empty or half full.
What type of disorders and diseases cause people to gain weight or eat more than the regular?
When it comes to disorders and diseases there are quite a few that develop from obesity,
or also lead people to obesity. On the website ObesityinAmerica.org they give us a few examples
on some diseases that may be caused from it. We have diabetes type one and type two. Type one
diabetes is more like a sickness that you are genetically born in to. It becomes kind of difficult to
fight that one because its a type that just flows. On the other hand we have type two diabetes.
This type forms when your body does not use insulin properly, they call this insulin resistance.
To begin this process your pancreas tries to produce an overload to spread it out throughout your
body and make up for it, but soon enough your body can not keep up with the necessities your
body needs of insulin and your blood glucose levels begin to act up. Another disease that drags
along with being obese is infertility. According to the site Medical weight loss Resources
Infertility is faced when a woman is obese and her hormonal levels begin to change and that
leads up to ovarian failure. Not only women but men can experience this too. Overweight men
begin to have trouble with sperm count therefore losing 15 to 20 pounds can help.

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
Lastly we have the thyroid disease. The thyroid that is located in our neck sis what
regulates our metabolisms and keeps it going and when not functioning well will be the gateway
to drastic weight gain. When prognosticated with a thyroid problem the doctor usually draws a
lot of blood exams to check your hormonal levels and to make sure they are ok. The thyroid not
only can be deadly, but it does not work alone. The adrenal glands located above your kidneys
also tend to produce a lot of cortisol -which is also known as a steroid hormone. When it
produces too much, the person begins to have a buildup of fat in our characteristic areas such as
the face, upper back and abdomen. As you all may know being obese is not only being Fat.
Obesity can sometimes lead people down opposite ways like anorexia. Typically women but
occasionally males begin to throw up in reassurance that this will make them look a lot smaller,
but this indeed is a disorder that needs to be brought to awareness. We as a society push people
down these paths without even realizing that we are affecting other peoples life as well.
What is considered overweight in the United States , and is it right?
The way we Americans refer to the obese community is by measuring the BMI of each
person using a chart. The chart that is used is based on a regular non athletic person, but still yet
how do we know that everyone is alike in body type. According to the NPR website they state
that the BMI classifications seem to be inaccurate. Everyone has distinct body structures and
muscle mass, so depending on what your muscle mass is, is what also may be putting on most of
your weight. What some people do not understand is that sometimes you can not help the number
that appears on the scale, muscle weighs more than fat and when your body composition does

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
not allow you to lose weight to a certain extent then we become stuck with our weight. Bones
are a lot more dense than fat and then follow your muscles, so if you were to be tested using the
BMI chart it would state that you have a higher BMI level when in reality you may even be
healthy.What becomes slightly embarrassing in this concept to the U.S is being a high in
technology nation we still rely on a chart that was created about two hundred years ago, and
because of the human evolution has been hacked by us the humans.
Obesity not only is appeared upon your size but what may lead to it is the way we
perceive different things. For example, sometimes our plate seems to be a lot more emptier when
the colors of the table clothes do not match up very well making us want to serve more than the
regular serving. When we also have a plate that blends with the color of our food, we dont really
see the serving size until we have already over served ourselves.
Conclusion
In conclusion obesity has a lot of leading causes that lead to it, and it all depends on what
approach you take that makes you fall into any of these categories that were stated in this paper.
Although obesity is the deadliest epidemic spread worldwide, the way it is referred to can be
false, its all about how people look at it and perceive it. It can also be a health risk so the way
you feel can also be taken into consideration. We as a community and nation have the right
abilities to prevent it, and help others from going through it , but it is just a matter of effort and
dedication. My brother Jonathan once said Good health is not something we can buy. However,
it can be an extremely valuable savings account. We just have to know how to take control of

Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
our actions and know to pick healthy from unhealthy or even sometimes right from wrong
decisions.

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5. Pollan, Michael. "You Are What You Grow." The New York Times.
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Jocelyne Ayala
4/13/15
Leslie Drake
Bibliography Essay
Obesity in the United States of America
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