Huang 1

Sean Huang
Valerie Fong
English 1T
6th June 2015
Fight against Obesity:
Problems and solutions to cure national obesity.
The United States, a country that is famous for its dark history of tasty fast food, and
obesity-related diseases. In our nation, 68.8 percent of our citizens are considered overweight or
obese, 31.8 percent of the teenagers are considered overweight or obese.(National Institutes of
Health.1) Overweight and obesity can lead to coronary heart disease, hypertension, gallstones
and breathing problems (National Institute of Health), the diseases increase the chance for
families to face sadness and the heavy weight of medical payments. In addition to health ,
according to a recent study researched by John Cawley, a professors of Department of Policy
Analysis and Management at Cornell University, found that Obese workers have a higher chance
of miss work for health reasons than non-obese workers. Also, he found that obesity-related job
absenteeism costs $4.3 billion a year in the United States. (Cawley, Rizzo, and Haas, 2007). His
opinion stands for our nations is losing a tremendous amount of money and resources due to
obesity-related reasons. Michelle Obama, the first lady of the United States of America, made a
speech on obesity in Kansas City, Missouri in 2010, she states:
Now, right now in America, one in three children is overweight or obese, putting them at
greater risk of obesity-related conditions like diabetes and cancer, heart disease, asthma.
Moreover, we are already spending billions of dollars in this country a year to treat these

Huang 2

conditions, and that number is only going to go up when these unhealthy children reach
adulthood. (Michelle Obama 2010)
Our next generation is filling up with unhealthy children's and deadly future caused by unhealthy
eating; that risks our nation's future on health and economic. Even though obesity is a
problematic issue that our society should put immediate attention on, they are solutions that can
address the problem and lead our country to a better state.
Scarcity of fresh produce
One of the problems that need our immediate attention is the shortage of fresh produce.
In some of the places in the US does not have any groceries stories nor convenient stories that
provide fresh produces. What is there to filled up their stomach is fast foods and processed foods,
no vegetables nor fresh fruits provide in the communities. According to the Food Pyramid, 2.5
cups total of vegetables for five servings each day (Diana Rodriguez ) is what an adult should
consume every single day, and for these people who lived in the poverty area, they wont be able
to fit the requirements. In the The Grocery Gap, written by Sarah Treuhaft and Allison Karyn,
both of them point out that in some of the minorities areas they do not have any access to any
fresh produces. They state People living in low-income neighborhoods, minority
neighborhoods, and rural communities face much greater challenges finding healthy food,
especially those who lack good transportation options to reach full-service grocery stores. (Trust
Links) The scarcity of fresh foods and the inconvenience transportation in minorities area made
the families only have fast greasy food or unhealthy processed food as their only choice to
consume, and that leads toward unhealthy life.
To break this unhealthy lifestyle, US Government can partner up with local business or
huge chain stores to provide more fresh produce to the communities, that provides more food

Huang 3

choices to the communities and solve the food poverty problems, According to a recent study
hold it by a group of researchers from Purdue University and University Amsterdam, they
estimate that adding new grocery stores to a high-poverty area translates into a three pound
weight decrease, and eliminating a fast food restaurant from a fast food dense neighborhood
translates into a one pound reduction. (Chen, S., Raymond) Furthermore, putting a grocery store
can also provide more jobs opportunities for local people. In recent studies of the Pennsylvania
Fresh Food Initiative, a statewide public- private effort that helped develop outlets for fresh
foods in 78 different poverty areas, they found out that they're nearly fifty thousand people have
access to fresh food also create more than forty-eight thousand jobs for the local communities.
(Chen, S., Raymond) This solution provides positive health effects, on the side it also provides
opportunities for building up the communities,
Education on healthy eating
Building up the communities with a healthy diet is not just about labor, but knowledge.
Without knowledge, people would not believe nor understand the importance of having a
balanced diet and how to eat and lose weight in a healthy way. In some minority areas, limited
information and resources are provided, people who lived in those areas have less access to
knowledge of the healthy lifestyle. Carolyn Gregoire, a senior writer at the Huffington post,
wrote the article Teen Obesity: Is Lack Of Education The Real Cause? In her article, she
pointed out that teenagers need health education. She states:
It is often said to be a lack of motivation, but for obese teens, the problem might be a lack
of health education. A new study found that although 76 percent of obese teens have
reported that they are trying to lose weight, their actions show that they might not be

Huang 4

properly informed about how to make healthy decisions that will result in weight loss.
(Gregoire, Carolyn)
Teenagers who are obese do not know how to lose weight nor eat healthy, the amount of
information is not enough to help them change to a better state.
The solution to this problem is to offer health education in school and for the community
members. When children's and community members have the knowledge, they have the chance
to choose a better lifestyle for their health. Michelle Obama points out an excellent way to
address the problem; she said Kelly Edwards Elementary School in Williston, South Carolina.
It is a Bronze Award winner in our USDA Healthierus School Challenge. This is a school where
students have planted their own garden so that they can taste all kinds of fresh vegetables
(Michelle Obama) Through classes provided in schools, students have a chance to learn more
about food and their diet, therefore they know how to eat right and lived right. Therefore, parents
and neighbors can get involve and learn from their children's, learn from their community and
have a chance to understand how to have a better lifestyle through having a balanced diet.
False Advertising and Nutrition Label
Food advertising, a way for companies to attract customers to buy their product, actually
it includes much health loopholes that can cause people to not be aware what they consume. Lots
of them do not include any warning symbols nor calorie information to notify the consumers
how many calories or artificial ingredients they consume, and the information on the food label
is not trustworthy enough. David Zinczenko, a world famous American author, wrote, "Don't
Blame the Eater." published by The New York Times. He states:
There are no calorie information charts on fast-food packaging, the way there are on
grocery items. Advertisements do not carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do. Some

Huang 5

fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard
to understand.(David Zinczenko)
Without a warning sign nor food labels, customers will not be able to know what they are eating,
and consume unhealthy ingredients without having a chance to decide. Therefore, they will not
be able to control what they eat and have a healthier life.
In addition for consumers to eat healthily and have a chance to choose what they want,
government power should put more regulations on label requirement. David Zinczenko pointed
out, Food companies would do well to protect themselves, and their customers, by providing the
nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products. Without such
warnings, we'll see more sick, obese children and more angry, litigious parents.(David
Zinczenko) By providing a detail signs, food companies give customers a chance to protect them
self, also have less chance to get sued by customers.
Culture difference
Some cultures or family will order their kids to finish all the foods on their plates because
when they were little, they were poor and not having enough foods. Therefore, they understand
how precious foods could be, so they do not want their kids to waste it. Wil Haygood, an
American journalist, who wrote Kentucky town of Manchester Illustrates national obesity
crisis. In one of his interview, his interviewer points out that overeating can be a problem from
cultural feelings. He quotes Stevens thinks part of the problem may lie in a cultural feeling
about the food that is set down in front of a child at home at mealtime here." There is that feeling
of 'clean your plate' in many of the homes around here. You do not throw food away. So the child
has to eat all of the food, even if they are already full. (Wil Haygood) Even though wasting no

Huang 6

foods is a great virtue when people have foods more than they can consume, it can cause health
related problems and obesity.
Eating and culture lifestyle is always bond together; changing eating habit will be a
challenge for some people who are dedicated to their living style. To keep the virtue of not
wasting and having enough nutrition, is to practice self-awareness and Temperance. People
should be aware the amount of food they used to eat according to their experience, and use it as a
limit line for their future references.Therefore, people can decide the amount of food they can
finish, but also have less chance to waste food. According to Benjamin Franklin, Eat not to
dullness; drink not to elevation. Human should avoid overindulgence in food or drink, take
what you need but not over eat. Through practicing temperance, people could self-control the
amount they eat and what they need.
Obesity has become a topic that we should be aware, it affects personal health and also
our future, if we consider every American's health and diet, it can affect our nation's workforce.
Food is part of our everyday life, and it provide more than just the taste and nutrition but a
future that we all depend on. Setting up markets can help people get freshly made produce,
Providing food labels could give consumers a fair chance to know what to eat, and providing
health education can help community members learn how to be healthy, but after all its all
depends on how people practice their temperance and self-control. Our future did have a bright
future for the health, and every single one of us is part of it.

Huang 7

Work Cited
"Overweight and Obesity Statistics." National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney
disease. National Institutes of Health, Oct. 2012. Web. 04 June 2015.
<http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/overweight-obesitystatistics.aspx>.

"What Are Overweight and Obesity?" National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. National
Institute of Health, 13 July 2012. Web. 04 June 2015. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/healthtopics/topics/obe/>.

Huang 8

Obama, Michelle. "Remarks by the First Lady to the NAACP National Convention in Kansas
City, Missouri." The White House. The White House, 12 July 2010. Web. 01 June 2015.
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-first-lady-naacp-national-conventionkansas-city-missouri>.

Haygood, Wil. "Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis." Washington
Post. The Washington Post, 12 July 2010. Web. 30 May 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/07/11/AR2010071103524_4.html?sid=ST2010071103577>.

Zinczenko, David. "Don't Blame the Eater." The New York TIme. The New York TIme, 23 Nov.
2002. Web. 28 May 2015. <www.nytimes.com%2F2002%2F11%2F23%2Fopinion%2Fdon-tblame-the-eater.html>.

Chen, S., Raymond, F., and Snyder, S. Obesity in Urban Food Markets: Evidence from
Georeferenced Micro Data. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University,2009.
<http://www.npc.umich.edu/news/events/food-access/chen_et_al_revised.pdf>

Pristin, T. Harlems Pathmark Anchors a Commercial Revival on 125th Street, The New
York Times, November 13, 1999. <http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/13/nyregion/harlem-spathmark-anchors-a-commercialrevivl-on-125th-street.html?pagewanted=1.>

Huang 9

Gregoire, Carolyn. "Teen Obesity: Is Lack Of Education The Real Cause?"The Huffington Post.
The Huffington Post.com, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 28 May 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/do-teens-need-better-heal_n_1069500.html>.