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Stephanie Fenton
Mrs. Doner
31 October 2012
The Decline of American Health
It is Saturday, and you are strolling through a shopping mall, enjoying your free time
away from school or work, and happily going about your spending. Gradually, a wonderful
aroma steals your attention. You approach the source of the smell. Suddenly, you find yourself
in the center of the food court, surrounded on all sides by sizzling platters and steaming dishes;
glowing images of crispy golden breads, creamy soups, and sweet desserts. You are particularly
drawn to a delicious looking slice of warm apple pie in a nearby display case, so you purchase it
and sit down to indulge in your treat. Thus satisfied, you gather your purchases and make your
way to your car to cruise back home, where you drop your belongings by the door and lazily
drop onto your couch to watch a little T.V. The rest of your day passes by uneventfully, and after
ordering pizza for dinner, you retire to your bedroom with a bag of chips and sprawl out on your
bed. As you munch on your first chip, you think that maybe you shouldnt indulge in such an
unhealthful snack, but youve already made several poor choices today and figure you might as
well just bag the rest of the day. Youll eat healthy tomorrow, you rationalize. However, as you
examine the last chip, guilt consumes you, and you toss that final morsel into the trash, angry at
the poor exercise and sickening diet you cultivated that day. Under your covers you hide, hoping
that if you just shut your eyes tight enough, you can shed the weight you are doomed to gain.
You have just been one of many millions of American victims to the unhealthful daily effects of
modern technology and skillfully processed food.

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Life in America was far from evolving into such a culture until the start of the Industrial
Revolution. Land was plentiful in the mid-1800s and the huge farms required large numbers of
people and horses to harvest crop (Karwatka 104), resulting in a slow, laborious process that
restricted the overall availability of food and kept the price fairly high. In addition,
manufacturing was done by hand, or by using animal power or simple machines (Jacob 246).
Not only did such sluggish processes limit food availability, but they required plenty of physical
labor from a large portion of the American population. Ample amounts of daily work in the
fields, combined with a scarcity of convenient food sources, retained the nations obesity levels
at a healthy low, and compulsive overeating was out of the question.
It was when new, more efficient technological advances began to abound that Americas
health headed downhill. The industrial revolution began in the late 1800s and brought with it
many new labor-reducing technologies such as improved automobiles and farm equipment.
Benjamin Holt successfully tested the worlds first practical track-laying tractor on
Thanksgiving Day in 1904, in Northern California (Karwatka 103), and he began developing
gasoline-powered tractors in 1906, reducing the need for human labor in the fields (104).
Henry Ford designed the Model T, using the assembly line to make cars cheaper and more
available to everyone; between 1908 and 1927 his company produce more than fifteen million
automobiles (154-155). In addition to the increasing indolence encouraged by new fast-food
restaurants and drive-ins, low-activity entertainment systems such as the television gradually
developed and increased in availability. In 1884, German born Paul Nipkow invented a
mechanical television, which formed the basis for most television processes used through the
early 1930s, and John Logie Baird further advanced the technology, skillfully marketing it to
increase public interest (Karwatka 242-243).

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During the industrial revolution, food processing and packaging also became much more
efficient. In 1890, Holt built the first steam-powered tractor, a machine capable of harvesting
large fields for one-sixth the cost of horse-drawn combines (Karwatka 104). Suddenly, the
process of food production accelerated, making produce much cheaper and more obtainable.
The introduction of power-driven machinery and the development of factory organization
during the Industrial Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of goods
(Jacob 246). The technique of freezing and canning, as well as the emergence of cafeterias,
lunch counters, and fast food establishments provided mass produced, mass marketed, and
standardized foods which began to dominate the nations diet. Processed cereals, which
were originally promoted as one of the first health foods, quickly became a defining feature of
the American breakfast (Food in America).
As technology and mass production continued to proliferate, the American culture began
to mold itself to its newfound production efficiency. In the 1940s, restaurants began to
experiment with fast-food, such as Kirbys Pig Stand in Los Angeles, which designed a system
in which waitresses would bring a customers meal out to their parked car (Schlosser 19-20).
Even the original McDonalds was designed to prepare food faster, lower the prices, and increase
sales (22-23). David Kessler explained how food became more readily available in the 1970s
and 1980s: we had larger portion sizes, more chain restaurants, more neighborhood food outlets,
and a culture that promotes more out-of-home eating (Kessler 5). A count taken in 1995
revealed that 44% of every dollar spent on food in the United States was spent away from the
home, exposing a growing culture of eating out (Satin 97). Indeed, when examining the
growing restaurant industry, researchers found that American portion sizes average 25% larger
than those in Paris, France (Kessler 175). Certainly, this growing market continued with no lack

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of effect on the American health. Kessler explained that the number of neighborhood food
stores and restaurants grew markedly in the 1980s and beyond, coinciding with increasing rates
of obesity (173). Still today the problem continues to grow as vending machines and fast food
drive-throughs lurk around every corner (Shryer 7). The American culture has evolved to
incorporate food into every aspect of our lives as Donna Shryer explains, food in todays world
assumes many roles completely unrelated to nutrition, such as eating because were sad or happy,
stressed out or rewarding ourselves, and using food to socialize (7). Unfortunately, Americans
now spend more money on fast food than on college education, personal computers, computer
software, or new cars (Schlosser 10).
One of the effects of such modern technology, culture, and mass production of food is
overeating and obesity. While he was collecting information for his book, Kessler interviewed a
man who stated that America has become a food fun housea carnival of delicious, fatty, salty,
sugary, and more to the point, accessible and cheap delights (Kessler xiv). Because of this
unpleasant reality, many Americans have succumbed to the abundant, delicious, maybe even
addictive foods that tend to increase ones desire to eat, rather than satisfy cravings. Eating in
this country has become so automatic that that its easy to underestimate how much food we
actually put into our bodies (7). While diseases in the early history of the United states were
primarily caused by sanitation issues and food impurities, many of todays diseases are directly
correlated to unhealthy diets, and one out of eight deaths in America results from an illness
related toobesity (Shryer 9). Unfortunately, the problem only continues to grow. In 1968,
twenty to twenty-nine-year-old women were an average of about 128 pounds, and by 2000, that
averaged had risen to 157 (Kessler 5). Currently, about two out of every three Americans are
overweight or obese (Shryer 9).

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A second effect is a decline in general health, even in individuals of healthy weights.
This is due partially to the consumption of excessively processed foods, as opposed to those that
are fresh or home-grown, and unhealthy chemicals and artificial flavorings added to products
during processing, additives which also increase the addictiveness of many foods. Salter noted
the substantial loss of nutrients during food processing by showing the vitamin C loss in Green
peas. Fresh peas lose 0% of their vitamin C if eaten straight from the garden. Canned peas,
eaten cold, lose 37% of their original vitamin C, and frozen peas, when cooked lose 61% of their
vitamin C (Salter 85). As a result Americans who rely heavily on canned or packaged foods are
deprived of many of the essential nutrients they could have obtained from fresh, locally grown
produce. In addition, growth hormones are often used to increase muscle mass and milk
production yields in commercial livestock, though it is controversial whether they have any
negative effects on the human consumer (78). This decline in health is also due to the increasing
regularity of eating at fast food restaurants and replacing essential nutrients found in milk, water,
fruits, and vegetables with cheap snacks such as sodas, cereals, and crackers. Indeed, one quarter
of all American teens drink up to four cans [of sugar-sweetened sodas], or 600 calories, a day
(Shryer 77), clearly outlining the lack of proper diet found in many of Americas youth.
Furthermore, every day about one of fourteen Americans eats at McDonalds, and every month
about nine out of ten American children visit one (Schlosser 7). Most fast food restaurants do
not provide the fresh fruits and vegetables necessary for a healthy, balanced diet, and most of
their foods are packed with unwholesome carbs, fats, sugars, and salts. Shryer noted, that about
80 percent of us eat around half the fiber needed each day (Shryer 43). Not only has modern
technology, culture, and mass food production made America obese, but it has deprived America
of the essential nutrients that once made it strong.

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So, why exactly is eating junk food a bad thing? What harm does it do to our bodies
and minds? Studies show a direct correlation between poor nutrition and lowered school
performance, as Amy Ross explained in her research paper, explaining that diet, exercise, and
sleep have the potential to alter brain health and mental function. Focusing mainly on diet, she
listed several nutrients Americas often do not consume enough of. Omega-3 fatty acids, for
example, are very important to the optimum performance of the brain and a lack of these fats
can lead to depression, poor memory, low IQ, learning disabilities, dyslexia, and ADD.
Unfortunately, many fast foods and corporate products lack the wholesome fish and nuts that
supply such important nutrients. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates, found in high
quantities in many fast food meals and snacks such as hamburger buns and crackers, also has its
negative effects on the brain; fluctuating levels of carbohydrates may cause dizziness and
mental confusion, both of which can affect cognitive performance (Nutrition and Its Effects).
Several solutions to the issue of American health have already been enacted. In the
1970s, the FDA developed regulations that specified the form and minimum content of labels.
However, problems in food labeling continued to appear in the form of: phony serving sizes,
ambiguous terms and health claims, and the indication of fat by weight rather than calories
(Charles 94-97). Luckily, the Nutritional Labeling and Education Act of 1991 solved many
current issues in the food labeling system with actions such as specifying terms and
standardizing serving sizes (98). Individuals have also begun to make personal decisions to
combat the unwholesome products of the food industry. Steven Mintz explains, The decision to
adopt a vegetarian diet or to eat only natural food has become a conscious way to express
resistance to corporate foods (Food in America).

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It is necessary to raise awareness of the decline in American health if we are to tackle
the issue. We need to inform the public of the mental and physical effects of poor health, the
habit forming effects of unhealthful food on the mind, and the baits of the food industry (how the
food industry adds fat, sugar, salt, and chemicals to their products to make food more palatable).
Sugar, fat, and salt make a food compellingThey make it indulgent. They make it high in
hedonic value, which gives us pleasure (Kessler 18). a high-level food industry executive
said that they designed food to be as hedonic and pleasurable as possiblewhich means
adding fat, sugar, and salt (Kessler 18). overweight teens have an increased risk of
developing diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, evidence strongly suggests that
overweight teens are more likely to be overweight adults, which often leads to health
conditions, including heart disease and stroke (Donna 9). While vigorous exercise can help
control weight, a body of research shows that physical activity levels do not necessarily predict
weight gain (Kessler 8). I am therefore left to conclude that the primary cause of the
decline in American health is the overconsumption of highly palatable but poorly nutritious
foods.
To tackle individual issues with diet and exercise, we need to create personalized diet
plans. The rules that support your structure must be simple enough to fit with your busy life,
but specific enough to remove uncertainty from the food equation (Kessler 210). The trick is
to identify foods that you can learn to eat in a controlled way and that are at least as reinforcing
as the foods you once overate (Kessler 209). Before you are ready to identify the kinds of
strategies that will work for you, you have to be ready to changeand deciding to do that is
highly personal (Kessler 227). To be able to walk away from unhealthy food requires repeated
practice and enough behavior change to establish a track record of success, which will

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reinforce your capacity to persevere (Kessler 184). Meals should offer sufficient variety to
keep you interested, but enough predictability that you can avoid being stimulated and dont have
to make continuous decisions about what to eat (Kessler 210).
We cannot force every individual American to change their diet and exercise more;
therefore, we must find ways to explain to everyone how healthy living is in their best interest,
and then we must make it just as easy to live healthy as it currently is to live unhealthily. Kessler
explained five major components of habit reversal, including awareness, competing behavior,
competing thoughts, support, and emotional learning (Kessler 185). When you eat food, The
good feeling is ephemeral, but its what makes the behavior reinforcingBecause it doesnt last,
you want to do it again (Kessler xiv). Diet is an issue in todays society because of the
following: low self-esteem, society, addictive food, rationalizing, etc. (Kessler ix-xvi).