positioned research paper

A report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates that in the period between 1983 and 2000, the average American increased the calories intake by 20%. The increase was mainly driven by increased meat consumption. The same report indicates that currently, the Americans consume 195lbs of meat each year compared to 138lbs six decades ago. In the same period, the consumption of fat increased by more than 60% while grain consumption has risen to 45% in the last 50 years. Further, the data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that an increase in the use of the fast foods in US has marked an increase in body mass index (BMI). The same report indicates that fast and junk foods make up to 11% of diets for the average Americans further compounding the issue of obesity. Comment by Julie Jones: Use MLA guidelines to format in-text citations.

In another study, the impact of the added sugars in energy drinks and soda is apparent and has been responsible for increasing the waistline of the Americans. Hence the changes in eating patterns and increased consumption of processed foods have been the main contributing factors in making the American citizens more obese. This paper argues that drastic changes in dietary qualities, change of eating behaviors, technological advances and increased consumption of fast and processed food items explain why the American citizens are increasingly becoming more obese. Comment by Julie Jones: This paper isn’t where you make your argument.

Research on obesity of Americans is crucial for providing critical statistics for planning health matters. Such information lays the foundation for the formulation of policies and regulations to guide the operations of health insurance companies as well as advising the general public on the precaution measures to overcome obesity. The study provides comprehensive information on the impact of obesity on society. For example, obesity has harmed the health care costs, with indications that between $147 billion and $210billion indirect and direct expenses annually are incurredto manage the problem (Kim and Anirban 2016). Research on the topic enlightens the Americans about the increasing health costs at the individual level due to the complications associated with obesity.

Personal medical cost linked to obesity stands at $1430 higher than the cost for people in the standard weight categories. The same study also indicates that a child who is obese by age of ten years incurs $19,000 more lifetime medical costs compared with the children with healthy weights (Murray, et al. 2014). Such information compels the parents to have control and regulation of the food items that their children consume. The data is also vital in the creation of the education curricula as students at all the levels should be equipped with nutrition information to help check the dietary intake. As a whole, it costs a lifetime health expenses of $14 billion to treat 10 year olds with obesity (Philipson, 2014). Therefore, the research on the topic provides the government health agencies with the statistics required for the management of the problem.

An understanding of why the American citizens are suddenly becoming obese offers vital data for both the employers and the employees. In the US contexts, obesity has been found to reduce productivity as an increased rate of absenteeism is recorded in workplaces with high numbers of obese workers. Total losses associated with the dwindling productivity in the workplaces cost the businesses up to $4.3 each year indicating the gravity of the issue (Public Health, 2018). At the individual level, each obese employeecost the market up to $506 per year due to declined productivity. The medical costs for the obese employees further escalate the operation costs for the companies. Increased BMI among the employees indicates an increase in the medical claims and number of sick days, hence increasing the entire medical costs for each worker.

Further, obese employees make high workers-compensation claims. If the obesity trend in the US continues the medical expenses for treating the resulting complications will increase by an average of $50billion daily by 2030. The total losses associated with obesity could grow to approximately $400 billion each year (Kim and Anirban 2016). Health reports indicate that obesity leads to early mortality and increases susceptibility to other ailments and impact the quality of life for entire families. Increased research on obesity can enlighten different segments of the public about the dangers associated with the condition.

Increasing and widespread poverty among some segments of the US population due to corporate downsizing and outsourcing of jobs to developing countries have on an impact on the rates of rising obesity. Lack of reliable sources of incomes suggests that the quality of the food among the low-income earners is compromised which leads to obesity. Following the economic crash in 2008 the number of people relying on food stamps increased to 47 million (Kim and Anirban 2016). Although it is possible to eat healthy on the offered allocations, it could be quite challenging. The problem is further compounded by the fact that unhealthy foods are cheap and convenient to access. In a study entitled obesity in Rio Grande Valley in Texas, most of the low-income obese earners mainly live on processed food.

Limited access to fresh fruits, vegetables or whole grains confines the people to consumption of unprocessed food. The practice is mainly apparent in the food deserts in the rural, suburban and urban areas (Kim and Anirban 2016). In such areas, stores stocking the whole grains could be quite far from the living areas making accessibility quite tricky. In some instances, the consumers are compelled to travel up to 15 miles from their homes to the stores that sell unprocessed foods. Unavailability of fresh grains and the vegetables have an impact on the number of obese populations in the US.

In the situations among the Americans who do not live in the food deserts, there is the question of the availability of the fresh and whole grains. Frozen corn and other processed food items are more affordable than fresh fruits and the vegetables, leading to increased obesity rates in the country. In one of the studies conducted in California, results indicated that a mother of two spent a dollar or less on macaroni and cheese while bananas of same quantity would cost more than a dollar (Cusi, 2017). Concerned that the children may not get enough calories by purchasing fresh foods, households opt for processed foods. Due to the huge price discrepancies between the fresh and processed foods the families are finding it more economical to buy the latter.

Further, having to work with constrained food budgets imply that microwaving boxed food is less time consuming, requires less energy than cooking fresh and healthy meals.

Obese people are encouraged to develop a walking and work out culture, but the practice is almost impossible in some cities due to lack of physical spaces (Public Health, 2018). Most of the low-income Americans live in small towns, rural areas, and suburbs which are not pedestrian-friendly. Such areas encourage more driving than walking and thus contributing to the obese cases. However some cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Boston have pedestrian-friendly infrastructures giving the residents an opportunity to function without cars. Besides, residents in the Sun Belt can find the places to walk although they are compelled to drive to access the areas.

In another study, less than half of the adults fulfilled the regulations for the physical activities in 2014. In the survey white adults performed better than their black and the Hispanic counterparts. Enhanced transportation options imply that the Americans walk less than previously. A report from the NYU indicated that the children play sedentary sports. In the past the children would play dodge ball in comparison to the iPad and computer games they perform presently (Murray, et al. 2014). However, it could be argued that exercising is not necessary a remedy for obesity as individuals consume more calories after workouts.

People are continuously stressed due to high unemployment rates and job insecurity, dysfunctional health insurance system (Kim and Anirban 2016). Past research indicates that there is a correlation between stress and weight gain. Due to the pressures of life in US, the people have become very stressed and hence engaging in binge and overeating. However, it is critical to state that in spite of the pressures of life, overeating could control to possibility of obesity in the communities (Murray, et al. 2014). A study conducted in 2010 at the University of Cincinnati indicated that stress affects the metabolic changes, making it easier to gain weight.

Poor work /life balance implies that a considerable proportion of the Americans spend most of the time working, leaving reduced amounts of time for leisure activities. Statistics from 2013 OECD better life index indicated that the US is ranked 28th among the developed countries on work/life balance matters. Obesity has been found to a significant result of the poor work /life balance. Americans are consumed by the activities of the workplace than the situation five decades ago. The increasing demands of the workplace imply that people have little time for rest or exercises, leading to obesity.

Lack of universal healthcare continues to impact on the lives of the Americans. The introduction of the affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 gave a glimpse of hope to millions of Americans who previously could not access health insurance. However, millions of Americans remain uninsured and disconnected from activities that discourage obesity (Cusi, 2017). As such they are unable to locate the programs such as weight management and wealth loss, and thus recording high instances of obesity. Further ACA has no provision for obesity screening and counseling (Public Health, 2018). Therefore, in spite of the introduction of ACA in 2010 millions of Americans continue to be obese while the program provides little intervention measures.

An increased number of Americans spend the late hours using devices like smartphones which interferes with the sleeping patterns and lack of sleep (Kim and Anirban 2016). Reduced number of hours for sleeping has been linked to obesity and weight gain in the past studies. Lack of enough sleep affects the hormones, intensifying hunger and increased appetite. A lack of quality sleep also leads to a lack of energy to exercise, further growing obesity rates(Philipson, 2014). In the US, 40% of the adult populations sleep for less than 7 hours a night according to reports from a Gallup survey in 2013. The number is one hour less the amount of sleep among Americans 50 years ago.

From the analysis of the research various factors such as consuming processed food, lack of exercises, advances in technology and cultural changes explain why Americans have become more obese. Obesity impacts the adults and children from all backgrounds and hence all the Americans are in one way or the other affected by the condition. The obesity continues to contribute to the emergence of the health conditions that affect the performance in the workplace and interferes with the overall planning of the health sector. Overall there is a need for further research on the topic as a deliberate approach to improve the overall health of the Americans for advancement of all dimensions of the economic, social, political goals.

Cusi, Kenneth (2017). “Our Fight with Fat: Why Is Obesity Getting Worse?” The Conversation, The Conversation Africa, Inc.,, theconversation.com/our-fight-with-fat-why-is-obesity-getting-worse-86601.

Philipson, Tomas (2014). “Innovation Caused The Obesity Epidemic- Will It Also Reverse It?” Forbes, Forbes Media LLC. www.forbes.com/sites/tomasphilipson/2014/09/19/innovation-caused-the-obesity-epidemic-will-it-also-reverse-it/#1a3ad5857051.

Public Health(2018). “Why Are Americans Obese?” PublicHealth, PublicHealth.orgwww.publichealth.org/public-awareness/obesity/

Kim, David D., and Anirban Basu (2016). "Estimating the Medical Care Costs of Obesity in the United States: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Empirical Analysis." Value in Health 19.5 602-613, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27565277

Murray, Christopher, et al. (28 May 2014). “The Vast Majority of American Adults Are Overweight or Obese, and Weight Is a Growing Problem among US Children.” IHME, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation,, www.healthdata.org/news-release/vast-majority-american-adults-are-overweight-or-obese-and-weight-growing-problem-among.