Rhew 1

Dillon Rhew

Connie Douglas

UWRT 1104

27 March 2017

Round Table Essay

The United States of America is faced with a serious health crisis. Americans have

quickly become one of the most obese populations in the world. Currently the United States has

the highest obesity rate of any country in North America and is in the top fifteen countries

globally. This is a grave issue that shortens the lives of Americans and lowers an individuals

quality of life. Obesity is known to can cause people to retire prematurely and miss more time

from work due to the related illnesses. The line of inquiry discussed throughout this paper is to

find out why the United States of America has a higher rate of obesity than other western nations

and what action we can take to reverse this trend. The research show that there are three major

voices in the conversation. Foremost, the medical community takes authority in research and

treating individuals who are afflicted with obesity. The second voice is that of the United States

government. The voice of the United States government is prominent because they help some

citizens pay for treatments of obesity and the related diseases. They also help fund research of

obesity and what treatments are effective. The third voice belongs to America's major food and

beverage corporations. This group often markets poor dietary options and empty calories that are

cheap options, which is especially appealing to lower income level families. The food and

beverages they sell are proven to increase the chance of the consumer becoming obese.

The American Medical Association voted in 2008 to recognize obesity as a disease. They
 Rhew 2

are the largest group of physicians in the United States of America and their stance aligns with

most other organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and government

insurance policies like Medicare, whose policy removed verbiage that denied obesity as a disease

in 2004. The healthcare community says, obesity is a complex, often misunderstood issue,

resulting in ineffective treatment. Thus, while some developed countries have seen a modest

slowing of the rise in obesity since 2006, no nation has reported significant decreases for three

decades. (Kiener). Some of the factors the research points toward are sleep, diet, lack of

exercise, stress, sugar consumption, and genetics. Therefore, the health care community view

supports the idea that Americans must be more likely to have poor sleep quality, a low-quality

diet, not get sufficient exercise, consume more sugar and have higher stress levels when

compared to other western nations and countries in North America. The research would suggest

that some, if not all, of these factors must be true about Americans when compared to other

nations. The only factor the health care does not support as a cause for the rise in obesity in

America is genetics. They deny this factor as a contributing cause of the obesity rates in America

because Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the

obesity epidemic (Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences."). The medical community has

formed this voice through research into the causes of obesity.

The medical response to the obesity epidemic has only succeeded in stopping the rise in

obesity with the youngest group, children between the ages of two and five, but even here the

rate has merely stagnated not reversed. Their approach has been unsuccessful with all other

groups. The medical community believes in small, community organized efforts that are focused

on each communitys biggest issues, but their actions are limited to organized events and

counseling via each independent physician. There have been no large-scale efforts to reduce
 Rhew 3

obesity in the United States by the healthcare community.

The United States government is the second major voice in the conversation. They

provide funding for some research and have acted to stop the obesity epidemic. The White House

used it sway under the influence of first lady Michelle Obama to change the school lunch

requirements as well as what foods could be served out of school vending machines. The United

States Department of Agriculture with influence from the White House made the decision to

change school lunches in the following manner: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

released controversial new rules limiting the sugar and fat content of school breakfasts and

lunches and set calorie and nutrient requirements. The rules include a ban on trans fats, which

has been linked to heart disease, strokes and diabetes (Valbrun). A lot of the change she fought

for has since been reversed; however, because of the negative reaction by the parents. Michelle

Obama also worked to change the nutrition label to emphasize calories and added sugars. The

changes were made to bring the more pertinent details that contribute the most to weight gain to

the forefront of the publics mind when deciding on a meal or snack. The goal of this change is

to get Americans thinking about what they are eating.

The research supports the idea that the government believes that diet is the biggest factor

of the obesity epidemic. Their action also supports the idea that the United States government

believes the best way to stop the obesity epidemic in America, which cost an estimated $147

billion annually to treat, is to inform Americans of poor diet choices and encourage a healthy

diet. The National Institutes of Health does not spend a lot of money on obesity research when

compared to other health issues Obesity also doesn't rank particularly high in the federal health

research portfolio. The NIH spends approximately $100 million per year studying causes and

treatments for obesity. But that is dwarfed by the $1 billion spent each year on heart disease, or
 Rhew 4

the $3.1 billion in targeted annual spending for cancer research (Bettelheim 31). They simply do

not have the same depth of knowledge compared to other diseases, which may explain why such

an infinitesimal change has occurred in the way we treat patients with obesity sense its rapid rise

in America during the late 1960s. The United States government formed their viewpoint on the

concept that weight gain requires caloric input. While this viewpoint is valid it ignores evidence

that not everyone responds in the same manor to the same diet.

The third major voice in the conversation belongs to the fast food and sugary drink

industries of America. While this group is not represented by one company, they all share similar

values. Their viewpoints often boil down to letting the citizen decide what is best for themselves.

They do not believe that sugary drinks or unhealthy fast food has caused the obesity epidemic in

America. They often shift the blame to a lack of exercise or an over consumption of product.

Their view can be seen in a recent court case where the New York City mayor passed legislation

that banned sodas larger than sixteen ounces. This decision got a lot of negative feedback from

local business, the community, and major corporations that were losing money by not selling the

larger quantities of product. The ban was eventually overturned and New York City is back to

selling supersized beverages with more sugar than a person needs in a week. Not all of New

York citys attempts to prevent obesity have went so poorly, in fact Over the years, cities such

as New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia have banned trans fats from restaurant food. New

York City also has required chain and fast-food restaurants to post nutrition information on their

menus (Valbrun).

The food and beverage industry has a good reason to be biased because selling less of

their product hurts their bottom line. They argue that a proper diet is the responsibility of the

individual and that their products can be a part of a healthy diet. This is likely their viewpoint
 Rhew 5

because if they were to agree that extreme amounts of sugar and fried foods were unhealthy it

would damage their sales. They have also spent a considerable sum of money marketing to their

biggest audience, children. Food and Beverage companies spent $1.79 billion on television ads

aimed at 2- to 17-year-olds in 2009 (Valbrun). These companies work by making people crave

their products by viewing them on a regular basis.

The research suggests that the United States of America has a higher rate of obesity than

other western nations because they live an unhealthy lifestyle. Americans do not get the

necessary exercise. Inadequate quality of sleep and an unhealthy diet are staples of the American

way of life. To reverse the obesity rate in America and see the numbers go back down the culture

in the United States must change. Americans must incorporate regular exercise into their life and

cut down on the sugar. America needs to make a conscious effort to be healthy. This will require

getting adequate sleep, eating healthy foods, drinking more water, teaching our children how to

plan a healthy diet. If serious action is not taken to reverse the current trend it will not be long

before more Americans are overweight or obese than have a healthy weight. Allowing the

obesity crises to get worse would cause severe economic issues, especially when it comes to

insurance policies and receiving health care in America because insurance rates and premiums

will both rise astronomically to pay for the increase in healthcare spending.
 Rhew 6

Sources:

"Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Aug. 2016,

www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html.

Bettelheim, A. (1999, January 15). Obesity and health. CQ Researcher, 9, 25-48.

Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/

Kiener, Robert. "Obesity." CQ Researcher 11 June 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.

Valbrun, Marjorie ."Obesity." CQ Researcher 15 June 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2017.