Assignment 16- Thomas Kinchen

            In America today, it’s obvious that we love fast food restaurants. I mean, there is literally a Fazolis, Mcdonalds, and a Penn Station walking distance from this school. Heck there’s even a new Panda Express that opened up and it was one of the food hot spots for the football team. We love these places, and we can’t deny the food tastes amazing. We wouldn’t go if we thought it was nasty. But one thing that we do when we eat at these restaurants is risk becoming obese. Obesity is a huge problem, especially in America. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, more and 2 out of 3 adults are considered overweight or obese. And more than 1 out of 20 adults are considered to be extremely obese. Obesity is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, the second cause on that list? Smoking. Obesity is linked to several long-term health conditions like premature death and illness including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, fatty liver, arthritis and joint disorders and some cancers. So it’s clear that we have a problem as a nation with our weight, but what seems to be the problem? How did we get so fat? The reason people become obese is the result of an energy imbalance. The body needs a certain amount of energy (calories) from food to keep up basic life functions. Body weight tends to remain the same when the number of calories eaten equals the number of calories the body uses. Over time, when people eat and drink more calories than they burn, the energy balance tips toward weight gain, overweight, and obesity. This energy imbalance comes from the food we decide to eat. And the problem with that is, as Americans we like to eat stuff that tastes good, even if it’s awful for our bodies. The main problem is that people like to eat at fast food restaurants. These restaurants are convenient, easy to find, and are mainly cheap. But the problem is that the food is awful for our bodies. If an energy imbalance is caused by an overconsumption of calories, then fast food is the worst thing for us because the food is filled with calories. For a day, the average male is supposed to consume about 2500 calories per day and the average woman is supposed to eat about 2000. At McDonalds, their Big Mac Meal is 930 calories, their Bacon Egg McMuffin meal is 700 calories, and their Double quarter pounder meal is 1,170 calories. So if you had eaten McDonalds for a whole day, you would eat 2800 calories. And that’s without any desserts or snacks that people eat with their meals. There was this one documentary created back in 2004 when the major fast food industries were being sued called Super Size Me. It’s actually very interesting, and it’s about a guy named Morgan Spurlock who decided to eat McDonalds for every meal of every day for 30 days. The rules were to this challenge that he only was allowed to eat McDonalds, he only super sized his meals when asked, he had to eat everything on the menu at least once, and he had to eat 3 square meals a day. Within this time period Spurlock begins to start getting overweight, have massive mood swings, and overall just feel awful. By the last day Spurlock had a cholesterol level of 230. The average cholesterol level is 200. He was fattening his liver and destroying it, and he gained 24.5 pounds. This documentary illustrates why eating fast food all the time is a bad idea. So how do we fix it? First off we can start off by eating healthier. A lot of obesity is preventable at an individual level by lowering the calorie intake from fatty foods and eating more of salads and fruits. Second people need to exercise more. Experts say people need at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days and more activity may be required for weight control. And it doesn’t mean you need to get a gym membership and workout intensely either. You could just go for a little walk or a run every day. The key to obesity is how we live our daily lives. Even though fast food is the convenient option doesn’t mean it’s the best option. Parents, instead of going through the drive through go to the store and make a healthy home cooked meal, and even if you get fast food get the salad instead of the greasy burger. And instead of lying around on the couch go outside and get some exercise. You’re not just doing this for your health; you’re setting an example of how our future generation should take care of themselves as well.