Maggie Valentine Obesity

In 2014, Maggie Valentine, a 12-year-old girl, suffers from obesity. Ever since she was eight years old, she has been overweight, and doctors told her she was another “statistic [of obesity]”. Although she exercises six days a week (swims for four days and walks her dog on the weekends), she still finds it arduous to lose weight. Valentine further explains her stance by stating, "I would expect that since I'm eating healthy and exercising a lot, that I would be able to lose more weight than I am, but my weight has stayed mostly the same..." (Fed Up). In detail, obesity rates are continually rising in America, affecting only adults in the early 1990s and children in the 2000s, and, in 2016, affecting almost all ages. In 2010, more than 2 in
government wrongly spends billions of tax-payer dollars, just so they can assist food companies to gain more profits and subsidize foods. For example, the federal government annually spends approximately $38 billion in meat and dairy product subsidization. Although, national dietary guidelines encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables, only about $17 million out of the $38 billion are spent towards produce. Additionally, two-thirds of American farmers received no funds from the last 15 years’ worth of subsidies, equivalent to $100 billion. Instead, those funds went towards corporation-owned-factory farms, which, hurt local economies and made meat and dairy production cheaper. Besides the subsidization costs, the government also spent an additional $550 million in marketing expenses, in order to boost sales for meat and dairy products. In fact, each dollar (of the $550 million) increases meat and dairy sales by $8, annually, which would be an additional $4.6 billion invested in the meat and dairy industry (“10 Things We Wish Everyone Knew About the Meat and Dairy Industries”). By subsidizing the meat and dairy industries, the government has unduly encouraged Americans to predominantly consume those products, which may contribute to future health complications. When meat and dairy are the primary components in a person’s diet, people miss out on the benefits other foods can offer; particularly, fruits and vegetables, which offer a variety of benefits, including the following: lots of vitamins and minerals; may reduce the chance of being diagnosed with many diseases; and fiber-rich produce that help with digestion; that is to say, all essential to a healthy