Obesity in America: A rhetorical analysis of three articles
According to The Journal of Economic Perspective as well as many popular news articles -- and the Centers for Disease Control -- Americans are getting fatter. Cutler, Glaeser & Shapiro (2003) begin their analysis of the subject with the stark image of the average American man and woman: "in the early 1960s, the average American adult male weighed 168 pounds. Today, he weighs nearly 180 pounds. Over the same time period, the average female adult weight rose from 143 pounds to over 155 pounds"( Cutler, Glaeser & Shapiro 2003: 92). Medical rates of obesity have doubled. The Journal seeks to determine the real reasons for this climb, which has profound consequences for the economy as well as individuals.
Although all nations have experienced a rise in obesity, America's rise has been particularly precipitous, they note. The authors propose what could be called 'the French fry' hypothesis. Processed, prepared foods have become both more abundant and easier to prepare, and once-caloric foods that were rare and extremely time-consuming to cook can now be accessed with a click of the button on the microwave. In 1950, a woman took two hours to cook and clean up from dinner; in 1995, that time had been split in half. Making French fries is a messy, time-consuming process. "Today, the French fry is the dominant form of potato and America's favorite vegetable. This change shows up in consumption data. From 1977 to 1995, total potato consumption increased by about 30%, accounted for...
Obesity in the United States The extent of the Problem Obesity as one commentator says, is not just a "matter of aesthetics" but has become a major public health problem in the United States. Similarly, Federal health officials have categorically stated that "the growing prevalence of obesity in the United States represents a significant health threat to millions of Americans." Obesity is seen by health officials in a serious light and is
Effects The effects of obesity are numerous and include both physical and psychological factors. The physical effects of obesity include heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, hypertension, respiratory issues, and sleep apnea (Health Consequences). Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United Sates. In many cases heart disease is preventable or controllable through weight loss and healthy living. Another major effect of obesity is diabetes. Diabetes
Obese Obesity is the health disorder in which there is excess proportion of total body fat. An individual is an obese when his or her weight is approximately twenty or more percent above the normal weight. Scientist uses body mass index (BMI) as the common measure for obesity as the health disorder. Obesity affects the development of human beings. If the weight of an individual is between 25 and 30 in
Obesity Hispanic Population Obesity means more than just being overweight. It should not be taken for granted because it is a medical condition in which the extra fat of the body accumulates at different sites and causes negative effects on the health of the person (Haslam and James, 2005). This leads to various health problems and thus reduces the quality of life and expectancy. When the body mass index, commonly referred
Therefore, England appears to take the cautious route of employing alternative measures until such time as specific long-term results become evident in the other countries' projects. The U.K. government's public health policy has been trying to counteract obesity by means of implementing a set of initiatives designed to inform people about the downside of what being overweight and obese involves, and also monitor the average weight of different populations over
Obesity and Its Consequences Obesity and its Prevalence Trends Final Research Paper: Obesity and Health Problems Obesity has significantly become an issue in the current century, which requires great intervention of the entire society. The research of this proposal aims at analyzing the situations related to obesity including; its causes, the effects it has on individual health, the manner in which it causes illnesses and related diseases and recommendations for easing the spread
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