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Veronica Dent
Professor Steere
English 112
4/30/2014

A Growing Nation


It is a known fact, that America is the most overweight country in the world.
According to the Journal of American Medicine, more than one-third of U.S adults
are obese, which translates to 34.9% (Adult). But why has obesity become such a big
concern, and growing problem in the last 50 years? This, thanks to the foods we
consume sold in every grocery store and every restaurant, are the leading factor of
obesity in America. While these foods are not only delicious, they are filled with
hidden sugars and fats that bust our new pair of skinny jeans. These foods are also
inexpensive since 46.2 million people (15%) live below the poverty line in the
United States (Francis). This makes it very hard for the majority of Americans to get
nutritious and wholesome products on a regular basis. But you can always find
inexpensive good quality food that is not loaded with chemically engineered
artificial sweeteners, if you take the time to look for it. If we stick to a diet of natural
and quality rich foods, the obesity level will fall drastically.

In todays world food is at our very fingertips and is at every corner we turn.
Food is a way of expressing our feelings, communicating with others, and is also
how we eat our feelings. With the newest obsessions from the Cronut to spray
cheese, food is everywhere. What is not everywhere however, are the nutritious
foods that our bodies are meant to consume and process. People love these tasty
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foods, but are obsessed with losing weight due to the image that magazines and the
media perceive as beautiful. Diet is the most popular word known to man in this
day in age. According to Marketdata Report, More than 60 billion dollars is spend
each year on diet and weight loss products in the US (Hungry). But the problem
with diet pills and Slim-Fast shakes, is that they dont actually work. According to
the University of California, Up to 2/3 of those on a diet regain more weight than
when they started (Hungry). But the simple fact of the matter, and the even more
simple solution is to just eat well. But this may be hard to do for many people,
because our cavemen like nature tells us to store food whenever possible in case of
the next disaster. From the Paleolithic times, our ancestors have always stored food
in our bodies in case of a cold front or natural disaster. This survival skill has stuck
with us through generations, but there is no need for that fear anymore. Daniel
Vitalis, a Traditional and Wild Foods expert states, Our bodies are programmed to
put on fat when there is food available. Our hunter- gatherer ancestors for example,
anywhere they could find fat or sugar meant survival for those people, it meant
carrying forth their genetics (Hungry). But with all of that sugar comes the weight
gain.

The past 10 years, people have been so concerned with fat-free this, fat-free
that, that all of the food companies are slapping a fat-free labels on their products
but are substituting the fat for sugars. According to the US Department of
Agriculture, The average American consumes more than 150 pounds of sugar and
artificial sweeteners each year We are eating about 22 teaspoons of sugar a day
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(Hungry). Food companies are swapping out the fats for sugars, but sugar is what
makes us gain weight because it turns into fat. One of the most common sweeteners
is Aspartame. Aspartame gains its controversy because animal studies have shown
that it can lead to accumulation of formaldehyde after consumption, and one of the
breakdown products of aspartame in the intestine is the toxic compound
methanol(What). It is inevitable that you are consuming sugar in almost everything
you eat. For instance, there are 39 g of sugar in 1 can of coke, 54 g in a monster
energy drink, 56g in a small can of baked beans, 169 g in BBQ sauce, 23 g in a
chocolate chip cliff bar which is equal to two strawberry pop tarts (The). This as
you can imagine is horrifying not only because it is so incredibly bad for you, but
also because the food companies are hiding these sugars with different names.
Fructose for example is one of the main ingredients used in foods today, such as
High Fructose Corn Syrup. Half of the sugar the average American consumes in a
day is fructose, which is 300 percent more than the amount that will trigger
biochemical havoc. And many Americans consume more than twice that amount!
(How). The most common and famous food/drink containing artificial sweeteners
is diet soda. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup, a best selling author; Diet sodas
contain a mix of aspartame and caffeine, which creates a blend of excite toxin that
kills off brain cells. David Wolfe M.A Nutrition says, Aspartame causes
formaldehyde build up in the brain, frontal lobe inflammation, and causes vision
problems (Hungry). According to Mike Adams, M.A Nutrition, when you drink diet
sodas you lose bone mineral density because phosphoric acid causes you to suffer
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neurological problems because of the sweeteners (Hungry). It is safe to say that
sugar and artificial sweeteners are causing a huge problem inside our bodies.

Sugar is not the only thing food companies try and hide from us. They also try
to hide fructose and propylene glycol. Propylene glycol makes up the blueberry bits
in blueberry muffins. What most people dont know is that propylene glycol is also
used to clean out the colon before a colonoscopy and also used to winterize your RV.
Fructose is also a high product in our everyday foods. According to Dr. Joseph
Mercola, It is the #1 source of calories in the US and is highly addictive. In the
1900s the average person was exposed to 15 g of fructose, now the average person
consumes 70-80 g per day. And an average teenager consumes 120-150 g of glucose
per day (Hungry). As you can see, added chemicals and sugars in our foods are not
known to the public, unless you know what to look for. The majority of Americans
are not educated on how to tell what is acceptable to put in our bodies and what is
not, and thats not their fault.

The majority of Americans are under the poverty line, causing their only
meal to come from a lunchable, or a pre-made mashed potato container. Our
generation is so busy and always going that people want the fastest thing at their
fingertips. Fast food meals are the fastest and cheapest thing for the busy people of
America. With fast food chains adding more and more to the dollar menu, it is easy
for people who do not want to spend a lot of money to just drive through and go!
Another viewpoint of people could be that they dont care, or look too much into
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their health. They see fat free, or low calorie and they think it is healthy. As humans,
we have the pleasure of tasting amazing food and being able to enjoy a great tasting
meal. But when that amazing meal costs you your life, thats when we need to take a
step back and become more educated on wrong from right. People need to become
more educated about what they put into their mouths. While at the time it may seem
like the greatest thing theyve ever tasted, in the long run they will be regretting that
one cheeseburger while they are in the hospital.

It is human nature to have the pleasure to experience the most wonderful
tastes, but if those tastes arent natural and come from sugars and chemically
engineered ingredients, that is when we need to take a step back and reset our
bodies. We can enjoy those great tastes through fresh vegetables and fresh meats.
We, as a nation just need to the time from out busy lives to search out inexpensive
vegetables and meats, and learn how to treat our bodies well. If we do not fill our
bodies with nutritious ingredients in order to cram for a final or get ready for that
big presentation, then our bodies will not cooperate and treat us well. By cutting
down a little bit everyday on the sugary cereals, cakes, and sugary Starbucks drinks,
then in time we will have more energy (and thinner waistlines) to do the things we
want to do!






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Works Cited


"Adult Obesity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Mar.
2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

Deneen, Sally. "Genetically Engineered Crops Pose Many Risks." Is
Factory Farming Harming America? Ed. Stuart A. Kallen. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "Food Fight: Genetic
Engineering vs. Organics: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." E/The
Environmental Magazine (July-Aug. 2003). Opposing Viewpoints
in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Francis, David. "Where Do You Fall in the American Economic
Class System? - US News." US News RSS. US News, 13 Sept. 2012.
Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

"How Sugar and Fructose Can Become Toxic." Mercola.com. Dr.
Mercola, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Hungry for Change. Dir. James Colquhoun, et al. Permacology
Productions. 2012. Film

"The Crazy Amount Of Sugar Hiding In Random Foods." YouTube.
YouTube, 04 Apr. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"What Are the Problems with Processed Foods?" What Are the
Problems with Processed Foods? Worlds Healthiest Foods,
n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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