Obesity Research Paper Essay Example

Obesity in America has gotten out of control over the last few decades with more than 30.5 percent of adults considered obese by current medical standards. The world we live in today, is a world where obesity is killing more people than smoking. I believe that Americans are not getting sufficient exercise and are consuming too much unhealthy food. These foods are causing damage to people’s health. Obesity is defined by a measurement known as body mass index also referred to as BMI. A person is considered Obese if they have a BMI of 30 or greater. This number can be calculated from an individual[’s weight and height. BMI does not calculate the percentage of an individual’s body fat but is a helpful estimate of a healthy body weight. There are many different categories for BMI; a normal and ‘healthy’ BMI is between 18.5 to 24.9, overweight BMI is between 25 to 30, and obese is between 30.1 to 34.9. In 1994 it was recorded that 59 percent of men and 49 percent of women have BMI’s over 25 (Critser). Portion sizes in the U.S. have increased tremendously since the 1970’s. Portion sizes have particularly increased in fast-food restaurants. Soft drinks, Cheeseburgers and salty snacks have all grown in size since 1977. Soft drinks went from being 13 ounces in 1977 to almost 20 ounces in 1998. Cheeseburgers increased from 5.8 ounces in 1977 to 7.3 ounces in 1998. The increase in portion size is definitely linked to why Americans have also increased in size. “Super-size” fries, “Big Gulp” drinks, and “Jumbo” shakes are all examples of exploding portion sizes (Obesity Society ). These names are recognized by almost every American and should be avoided by every American. Increased portion size is causing Americans to eat more calories than they use in a day. Recent studies have shown that people eat more when they are confronted with larger portion sizes. Americans are consuming too much fast food and other unhealthy foods. Fast food is easily