The U.S. is plagued by numerous natural disasters; there are forest fires every summer and tornadoes are nothing out of the ordinary. Besides having many natural disasters, the U.S. also has many overweight people. Obesity is an increasingly serious problem in the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s report last August, at least one-third of American adults are obese. Being obese is not the same as being overweight; it’s being heavier and fatter than those who are overweight.
The definition of being obese and overweight is in respect to the BMI of a person. If a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of a person’s height (in meters) results in a number larger than 25, then the person is overweight; if the number is larger than 30, the person is obese. Obesity is further divided into three categories: The first is slightly obese, with a BMI between 30 and 35; the second is moderately obese, with a BMI between 35 and 40; the third is severely obese, with a BMI of over 40.
The obesity problem faced by Americans is actually closely related to their lifestyles; the longer you live in the U.S., the higher the possibility of being overweight. The New York Times recently pointed out in a report that the longer immigrants live in the U.S., the worse their health becomes. Diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes all start striking. These ailments do not strike alone. These three lethal diseases are not only the most common diseases in the U.S., but they are also closely linked to body weight. Virtually every obese person has these three killer diseases!
The U.S. is rich, and eating too much is a problem. The most severe problem however, is not eating too much but rather what is being eaten. Many Americans are not eating healthily; high-fat and high-sugar foods are everywhere, and chips are sold in large packets cheaply. As a result, the poorer the person, the fatter he is and the problem of being obese is also more serious. Due to poverty, ready-made food is bought and a lot of it is canned food. An individual may hold several jobs and may even work overtime. The person would not have enough time to prepare nutritious and fresh food or take time out to exercise. In this situation, people who are not overweight are very rare.
The problem of obesity is a very serious social problem in the U.S. It not only affects a person’s self-image and psychological well-being, but it directly affects physical health and even the U.S. economy! More and more citizens are spending money on health; it also severely affects a person’s ability at work. How can the society and economy not take hits when national wealth is being spent on curing diseases instead of opening up economic potential and developing society?
No wonder U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has repeatedly stressed on our need to reduce obesity. Without health, what else do people have left?
Some people spend the first half their lives exchanging health for money, then spend the next half of their lives trying to exchange money for health. People are too dumb, don’t you think?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.