Obesity in the U.S.A.

During that festive time of the year there are some of us who definitely need a little reminder to actually refrain from the third helping of Christmas dishes and go on a walk with family instead of sitting in front of TV or reading that post. Undoubtedly, we - people of the 21st century - should spend more time on physical activity and take care of a balanced, healthy diet, without exaggeration of course, but in the era of a junk food, air pollution and stressfull lifestyles we are more and more prone to civilization diseases and every one of us should be aware that obesity is one of them.

I link the problem of obesity with the topic of culture for several reasons. First of all our health is for me the most primary determinant of our happiness and every kind of activity. There can be also some culturals factors as the reasons and consequences of this fatal disease that we should be aware of. Even though it is slowly changing for better, obesity is still very current problem for the Americans, especially the young ones. It may be said that the excessive attention paid to this lead to another extremes - promoting the slim figure in the mass media, intolerance on that substrate or even bullying, we should remember though that it is our health and life that matters and that prevention is always better than cure! To make myself clear, I'll repeat that one more time, it's not about being slightly overweight, I would like to present some less obvious reasons why Americans are often claimed to be the most obese nation, and it goes far beyond the harmful stereotypes of eating only in McDonald's restaurants, as you can see it is not only "suger, fat and lack of activity".

THREE REASONS WHY IT IS NOT THAT EASY TO LOSE WEIGHT IN THE U.S.A.

Between the 1960s and the 2000s, Americans grew, on the average, an inch taller and 24 pounds heavier. The average American man today weights 194 pounds and the average woman 165 pounds. The growing girth has led to the creation of special-sized ambulances, operating tables and coffins as well as bigger seats on planes and trains. Almost a third of American children and teens are overweight, but 84 percent of parents believe their children are at a healthy weight in one study. Why? From whom should children get the proper knowledge about nutrition if not from their parents?

Still there are scientific reasons why Americans are blimping up and they aren’t limited to eating too much and exercising too little. Here are a few areas on which I'd like to shed a light.

1. Antibiotics in food and as medicine. A recent article in the New York Times confirms suspicions that the antibiotics routinely given to livestock to make them fat do the same thing to people. Antibiotics are thought to fatten by changing gut bacteria to make absorption of nutrients more efficient.

Most researchers blame over-prescription of antibiotics for excessive human exposure. Studies also show there are antibiotic residues in US food too, especially in meat and milk, and the government tests for them. That means even if you avoid unnecessary antibiotics from the doctor, you could be getting them from the grocery store.

2. Sugar substitutes. Artificial sweeteners have always been billed as a way to cut calories and lose weight. But recent research shows they may do just the opposite. When researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center studied 474 people who drank two or more artificially sweetened soft drinks a day they found the people gained five times as much as those not drinking diet drinks. Thanks for nothing!

There are three reasons artificial sweeteners may do more harm than good. One is that some of the sweeteners - which tend to be chemicals like acesulfame potassium and aspartame - may slow metabolism, speculate researchers. Secondly, artificial sweeteners separate “food seeking behavior” from the “reward” of real nutrients and can set up sweets addictions because the reward is never received. They literally “train” people to crave sweets. Finally the presence of artificial sweeteners in a product doesn’t automatically mean natural sweeteners aren’t present too. Some food manufacturers use both. Read the label. Marion Nestle, a professor in nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University and leading food expert, told me she isn’t aware of any convincing evidence that proves artificial sweeteners help people to lose weight.

3. Industry marketing. Most people are aware of aggressive junk food marketing, especially to children.. In a recent pediatrics study, children who tasted identical graham crackers and gummy fruit snacks, some with and some without cartoon characters, “significantly preferred the taste of foods that had popular cartoon characters on the packaging.” Who says advertising doesn’t work?

Researchers who studied 500,000 California middle- and high-school students found those who attended schools located near fast-food outlets—surprise!—weighed more. Still, it is not just the food industry that is responsible for our growing national girth.

TASK

1. List the possible consequences of being obese (you can use your own knowledge or the internet sources) and form 3 to 5 advices about healthy diet for your American friend.