Speech

It kills one in one thousand Americans each year. It affects thirty one percent of adults. Am I speaking of murder, car accidents, cancer? No, obesity. Just think about those stats. Almost a third of the people in this country have a BMI of thirty or higher. How many people are in the United States¸about three hundred million? That means that about three hundred thousand people die each year in the United States due to their weight. All because of what, we don’t exercise or eat right? Really,is this what we as Americans have become?

Who or what is to blame for this epidemic? Is it the fast food companies, for their fatty foods and marketing towards children, is it technology that makes us increasingly stationary, or is it us, the people. We would like to place blame on things out of our conrol such as metabolism and big bones, but when it comes down to root cause it is our choices that directly affect our weight. Why don’t we exercise more often, the answer is because exercising isn’t fun. In a culture that is centered around enjoyment exercise doesn’t mesh well with the wants of the general public. It isn’t difficult to exercise; it just isn’t as enjoyable as sitting on the couch and eating some chips while watching tv.

As much as the blame is on the American people, the fast food companies are not off the hook. It is true that they make billions off of serving fatty foods and give ridiculous portions. They do aim marketing campaigns at children, and tempt us with their cheap deliciousness. However what it again comes down to is our choice to eat their food knowing the risk to our bodies. Doctors recommend that fast food should be eaten about once a month, but we eat it multiple times weekly. You can’t really place all of the blame on something that you choose to eat. The documentary “Super Size Me”

doesn’t really exemplify a typical American’s diet, but it does show how harmful the food can be if consumed in large quantities.

Childhood obesity has tripled in the past twenty years. Many attribute this to video games and computers, and they do take up time that could be otherwise used for physical activity. How do children get these things? I doubt that many of them can afford it by themselves. Their parents / guardians / relatives are the people who buy them. Why? So that they can spend countless hours in front of a screen that not only decreases exercise, but hurts their eyes. Why would parents place such a thing in the hands of those they care about? It is because they want to make their children happy(or what children believe is happiness). Those same parents probably give their children all the food they want as well. They think that an angry child makes them bad parents or that their children deserve anything that they want when they want it. You see where I’m going with this? The ads against children do nothing if the caregivers do not give in to the child’s demands.

Sixty three percent of the American people are considered overweight. You don’t have to be obese to feel the effects of the extra pounds. The number of diabetics is increasing, there are more heart attacks than ever before. All of these statistics can be directly linked to poor nutrition and lack of exercise that is so commonplace in America today. How can something so easy be so hard to accomplish? Why don’t people want to live healthy and truly happy lives? Is the taste of fatty foods so irresistable that we are willing to give up our lives, our bodies? There is not a single state that has an obesity rate of less than fifteen percent. This means that obesity is not concentrated in just one area, but widespread a true epidemic. Think about your future as the young adults of America. Do you want to be one of the three million eight hundred thousand Americans that weigh over three hundred pounds? The choice is up to you, not your parents, not your friends, but only you.

Sources:

• The Fat of the Land: The obesity epidemic and how overweight Americans can help themselves
• Super Size Me by: Morgan Spurlock
• Obesity Map
• CDC Obesity Statistics