Topic > Obesity in the United States and Ways to Avoid It

Obesity has become a worldwide problem over the years and still continues to grow. Obesity is present in the United States of America and affects everyone, regardless of race, gender or age. Obesity is commonly known as a disease in which extra fat accumulates in the body and increases the risk of developing other chronic conditions if not treated properly. Obesity is commonly found in low-income areas, fast food franchises portray it as healthy, and there are numerous ways to reduce the risk of encountering obesity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Obesity occurs in low-income areas due to many factors. Work ethic is a contributing factor to obesity because most people who live in small towns hold blue-collar jobs. For example, most people work as plumbers and construction workers. These jobs require long hours and physical labor, but pay much less than administrative jobs and working for large companies. Because they spend most of their day working and earning money, they don't have the time and energy to take care of their health, so they tend to look for options like ordering takeout, eating out, or reheating frozen meals. People who eat fast food are more prone to developing obesity because they consume meals that contain saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugars. People living in poor rural areas typically lack access to grocery stores and farmers' markets to purchase fresh produce, dairy products, and lean meats. Another factor is drug addiction. Drug use is a huge problem in America's inner cities and low-income areas. To fuel drug addiction, many people sacrifice food to save money and satisfy their drug needs. Therefore, this leads to the formation of unhealthy eating habits and starts affecting the individual's overall health and appearance. Another factor that influences obesity is the lack of health education. Rural communities do not know how to eat healthy, many times they see advertisements and marketing campaigns used by fast food chains and are more likely to choose drinks and foods that are less nutritious for their bodies. In reality, these menu items are simply not what they are marketed to be. Fast food franchises invest so much money in advertising and marketing campaigns. For example, popular fast food restaurants like McDonald's and Taco Bell have menus that grab your attention by using bold colors like red and blue. They display large images of menu items and keep the item price in small print, so customers don't notice. Another technique used is that often menus will say the price of the burger is $8.69 and so people are fooled into thinking they are only paying $8.00 but in reality after tax you are paying almost $9 ,00. Many of these places also offer value meals and dollar menus and customers tend to purchase more items from these menus because they think "It only costs $1.00 or a couple of dollars", but in reality these items contain a huge amount of salt and sugar and the food these meals often lead to a greater risk of developing diabetes, hypertension and weight gain. This also concerns the younger generation, children's meals at McDonald's include toys - this is a way to increase sales and satisfy children's desires. I also sometimes eat at a lot of fast food restaurants and have noticed that there is really only a few cents difference between purchasing items individually or.