Overweight America: Waging the War Against Obesity

By Avanti Vadivelu
 
Obesity is an often overlooked disease that affects populations in each and every country of this world. Of course, some countries have much more staggering obesity statistics than others. Perhaps not surprisingly – and most definitely discouragingly, the United States ranks at the top of the list when it comes to the number of obese adults. 
 
According to the American Obesity Association (AOA), almost 130 million adults in the U.S. are obese.  That’s about 30% of our entire population! What’s even scarier? That’s about 15% higher than the global obesity average. To give you an idea of where our foreign neighbors stand in terms of the percentage of obesity in their countries, here’s a sample of some statistics courtesy of www.NationMaster.com:
 
Mexico             24.2%
United Kingdom           23%
Australia                       21.7%
Canada                        14.3%
Turkey                         12%
France                          9.4%
Italy                              8.5%
Japan                           3.2%
South Korea                 3.2%
 
So what makes up the difference? How do other countries consistently fare better than the U.S. in the war against obesity? Well, according to the AOA, several factors could be contributing causes, most of which relate to modernization. In other words, our social and scientific advances are making us lazy! Consider these effects of modernization on American lifestyles and the lack of need for physical activity:
 

• Access to automobiles gives Americans the opportunity to drive even the shortest of distances rather than forcing us to walk or bike
• Technology advances at home in the form of modern appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, mixers and blenders makes physical labor nearly obsolete
• Increase of ready-made and processed foods means a decrease in the use of healthier ingredients
• The American workplace of sitting quietly in front of a computer for hours upon hours without much reason to get up (except for the occasional trip to the vending machines) drastically reduces the amount of physical energy spent during working hours
• One-stop shopping centers make it easier for Americans to get everything they need in one fell swoop… well, everything but exercise that is

 
These factors above may very well be good reasons for why the United States has such a high number of obese adults, but they shouldn’t be excuses. 
 
If you found yourself nodding your head in agreement to one or more of the factors listed above, try to make the concerted effort to become more physically active in your daily life. Begin by washing your dinner plate by hand tonight!