The Politics of Obesity Essay -- Overweight Health Eating Habits Essay

The politics of ObesityA March, 2005 headline on CNN.com brought deeply disturbing news show to the American public Report Obesity will reverse biography expectancy gains. For the past 200 years, life expectancy steadily increase thanks to medical advances such as the discovery of antibiotics and vaccines, but this upwards trend is no longer guaranteed. Childhood obesity has already trim back the average life expectancy between four and nine months. Todays generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first m in modern history, warned S. Jay Olshansky, the University of Illinois researcher and author of the study (1). In 2004, the US Center for Disease Control found that at least 66% of adults were overweight or obesedouble the percentage in 1980and that much than 1/6 th of kids ages 2-19 were overweight. Type II diabetes, usually caused by an blistery lifestyle rather than genetics, has increased as a emplacement effect of obesity and heart disease is also on the rise. In short, obesity is a national epidemic.Accusatory fingers have been flying, each pointing to distinguishable possible causes for our tubby younger generation and their similarly overweight parents. around blame video games that keep kids inside and sedentary and some run across the shift toward desk jobs as the reason. Others claim that our car culture based on cheap gas is the culprit. Still others fault the fat-laden fast nutrient, soda, and junk food that Americans consume by the ton. To be sure, these cultural phenomena are interconnected and no 1 cause can be blamed entirely, but one tiny acronym stands demurely behind this last category of diet-related causes HFCS. High fruit sugar corn syrup, the favorite food additive of Coke, ... ...ne wants to experience the pain and frustration of obesity, and surely we wish to protect our children from starting out life unhealthy and overweight. As consumers but more importantly as citizens, we must b e informed about the HFCS and obesity for our childrens sake, and US agricultural and nutritional policy must reflect our concerns. Sources Citedhttp//www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/16/obesity.longevity.ap/ http//www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/ fib/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL Michael Pollan. The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity. The New York Times Magazine. Oct 12, 2003. http//www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8003-2003Mar10?language=printer http//www.ajcn.org/cgi/ mental ability/abstract/79/4/537 http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15234599&dopt=Abstract