Have you ever thought about how unhealthy our nation has become? During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. More than one-third of U.S. adults (34.9%) and approximately 17% (or 12.7 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years have obesity ("Overweight and Obesity "). Poor nutrition is a huge precursor to obesity. If your body isn't getting the proper nutrients that it needs, it is going to begin to slow down, making it even harder to lose weight. Poor nutrition has become an increasing problem due to the convenience of fast food restaurants. Many Americans depend on fast food on a daily basis because they feel too busy to slow down for a healthier meal. Lack of exercise is another contributing factor to the obesity epidemic. Without a balance or deficit in the number of calories consumed, and the number of calories burned, weight gain will occur. The recommended amount of exercise is only 30 minutes of physical activity daily (Laskowski). However, only 49.6 percent of American adults are meeting these guidelines ("Exercise or Physical Activity ").
One may ask, why should we stress this obesity epidemic? Becoming obese comes with many statistics of severe risk factors, such as diseases and fatalities. Some of the most common diseases that may result are coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, obesity is associated with 18.2% of all deaths among adults from 1986 through 2006 in the United States (Laidman). From the previously mentioned statistics and facts, it is clear that methods to tackle American obesity has not been effective. Americans lack the ability to purge obesity, so a change must occur in three of the United States' conventions in order to seize obesity. .
The first convention that will need changing are restaurants. The amount of food consumed from fast food restaurants have increased greatly.