People often hear talk of America having extremely high obesity rates but we never think too much of it. As long as it isn't effecting them they think it isn't an issue, but what most people are wondering is why is this such a large problem for the United States. To figure out why this problem is hitting the United States the hardest we have to start with a simple question, what is obesity? Obesity is a medical condition that is defined as a disorder involving excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems. With that being said, the United States of America is ranked the #1 most obese country in the world with approximately 33% or 78 million people in the adult population being obese (Jacobs). A study done in 2012 showed that more than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. Along with that, childhood obesity has more than doubled in kids and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years (Center for Disease Control, para 1). With these large of a numbers we cannot pinpoint on exact thing to be the cause of obesity no matter how bad we would like to. There are many causes that lead obesity rates to be this high. The United States of America is the most obese country in the world because of cheap food, poor education, sedentary lifestyles and lack of exercise.
One of the biggest causes of obesity in the United States is cheap food. A lot of people will blame their weight problems on healthy food being too expensive but in most cases that isn't the cause. Data is now showing that fruits and vegetables have become increasingly more available and affordable over the past decade (Carroll and Fernstrom, para 11). A huge reason this country keeps getting fatter and fatter is because we are surrounded by fattening, tasty foods that tempt you. Not only are they tasty but they are also very inexpensive, whether it is from a fast food restaurant's menu or a processed snack.