Obesity In America Essay

Over the years fast food has become a major contributor to obesity in America. The United States has become one of the most obese nations in the world due to the fact that fast food contains many fattening ingredients and that fast food is so easily obtainable. About one out of four people eat fast food every day, and there are about fifty million people who eat at a McDonald’s restaurant each day (Obesity Facts). Three reasons that fast food is contributing to obesity are fast food is higher in calories, it contains, more unhealthy fats, and it is higher in sodium. Majority of junk foods and fast foods are loaded with calories. Large portioning and the high fat content on these foods are the causes of the high energy content (Obesity Facts). An average person needs to consume around four hundred to six hundred calories per meal assuming that they have two snacks between meals (Obesity Facts). Most fast food meals contain more calories than this. For example a Big Mac from McDonald’s contains eight hundred and ten calories to go along with a soft drink product which may contain over a hundred calories or more depending on what size (Obesity Facts). That is more or almost more than double the calories a person should be consuming per meal. Eating an extra
Consuming to much sodium however can be harmful to one’s body. Too much intake of sodium can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, and osteoporosis (Obesity Facts). Also, many experts believe that too much sodium intake can lead to an increased risk of bowl cancer (Obesity Facts). The average adult needs to consume about twelve hundred milligrams of sodium a day (Obesity Facts). Most fast food meals contain almost double this amount of sodium. With so many people eating fast food daily and most of them eating fast food more than once a week more and more people are becoming obese and are having health