American’s Becoming Obese Essay
The average weight of an American adult has increased from 160 pounds to about 180 over the last sixty years. The average weight of an adult female has increased significantly as well, over the same time period, from 143 pounds to over 155, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. By the early 1970’s, more than 14 percent of the American population was already diagnosed as obese. According to the today’s statistics, the number of obese American adults is two times higher, according to the Center of Disease Control (David , Cutle, Edward, & Glaeser, 2003).American’s Becoming Obese Essay
The issue of the weight increase in America was reported throughout the twentieth century. In the same regard, the rate of increase in weight since 1980 has been different from the previous changes. For the most cases in the twentieth century, average weights were below the recommended levels for the maximum longevity. The increase in weight represented a health improvement over this time period. Today, the average American adult weight has surpassed the recommended healthy weight, and worse still, it is increasing by day. Although other developed nations have recorded an increase in the average adult weight, the rates have not been as high as it has been the case in the United States (Witters, 2011). This document will try to explain this growth in obesity and the reasons it is higher in the United States than other developed nations.
There has been sufficient evidence that relates calories expenditure and consumption. It has been found that the expending rate has not changed in any way since 1980, but the rate of consumption has significantly increased. This has been related to the food preparation revolution. In the 60s, families cooked their own food and ate it at home, unlike today’s mass food production and a restaurant culture. This has been contributed by the revolution in mass consumption goods over the last century, technological innovations in packaging and preservation. The present day has witnessed vacuum packaging, modern improved food preservation methods, deep freezing, microwaves, and artificial flavors, among others. These factors have enabled food manufacturers to prepare food in a centralized industry and ship it to consumers around the country for rapid consumption. This has significantly increased the variety of foods consumed, and also the quantity consumed.American’s Becoming Obese Essay
A good illustration is the evolution of potato consumption. In the early 1960s, potatoes were locally consumed in homes. Americans consumed potatoes baked, boiled, or mashed. French fries were very rare. They were either served at home or at the restaurant in most cases. Their preparation was quite taxing, associated with a lot of potato peeling, cutting and cooking. This was locally done without involving any of the expensive machinery. These activities also required a lot of time and attention. A number of innovations have emerged over years. These industries have enabled centralization of French fries production on a large scale (Timi, 2011). Using new technologies, French fries are typically peeled, cut and cooked in a centralized industry. In the present day, French fries are the most common form of potatoes consumed across America.