It is no question that America’s obesity rates are among the highest in the world. Obesity rates are high in almost all U.S. cities but, which city is the fattest? Newsweek magazine named Memphis, Tennessee to be the fattest city in 2012 (Lollar). There is no argument Memphis’ obesity rates are ridiculously high but, there is controversy about why Memphis is the fattest city and what people can do to change. Some think that lack of exercise and poor diet is the problem. Some say that lack of education is the issue. Others even think that the government is causing obesity rates to skyrocket. I believe that poor diet and the lack of physical activity are causing Memphis to be one of the fattest …show more content…
The controversy around this topic is based on the arguments of why obesity rates are high. There are many arguments made on this topic that will be introduced and analyzed. But first, there are many key terms that the average person might not fully understand. The first term examined is body mass index or “BMI.” BMI is a measurement that is used to deem someone as being underweight or overweight. To calculate someone’s BMI you divide a person’s mass(kg) by their height(m2) (Wikipedia.com). The BMI chart lists as follows: very severely underweight less than 15, severely underweight from 15.0 to 16.0, underweight from 16.0 to 18.5, normal (healthy weight)from 18.5 to 25, overweight from 25 to 30, obese class I (moderately obese)from 30 to 35, obese class II (severely obese)from 35 to 40, obese class III (very severely obese)over 40 (Wikipedia.com). The next term is one that is often used is “overweight.” This is a term used to designate the area between normal weight and obese. Overweight means having a BMI from 25 to 30. The next term is “obese”, which means a person has a BMI over 30. In