The Unknown Side of Obesity

By: Judah J.

 

           

            America, land of the free, home of the obese. Out of 141 countries, America ranks 12th. Yay, right? Yet another victory for America. However, this high placement is extremely negative. America did not place 12th in rights, nor gun ownership, rather obesity. 36.2% of our population is obese. Two in five Americans suffer from obesity. Isn’t that tragic? Approximately 300,000 Americans die annually due to issues related to obesity. Obesity has several negative effects: reduced quality of life, shorter life expectancy, mental issues, and the list goes on. However, although these effects may be obvious, the causes may not meet the eye. Obesity is caused by more than excessive eating, culture and influential socio-economics being two of the main causes.

            It is important to take the several causes of obesity into consideration when talking about obesity. Americans become obese through a diverse set of reasons, such as unhealthy eating rather than excessive eating (although excessive eating remains a large cause). In several cases, Americans have no choice but to consume unhealthy foods. In 2019, 10.5% of American households were food insecure at least sometime during the year. It is oftentimes that cheap processed foods are more affordable compared to healthy whole foods.

Redlining and segregation have forced African Americans and Latino Americans into areas of poverty and low income. Due to the lack of money in these areas, residents have been left with no other choice but to purchase cheap, and often unhealthy foods that can be easily found. Cheap sugary drinks such as grape soda are marketed in these areas of poverty and are known to negatively affect the health of consumers. This is where the stereotype of “grape drink loving blacks” originated. These areas are known as food deserts. European Americans weren’t subject to redlining, segregation, and other socioeconomic government tactics used to diminish American citizens. So although European Americans have a high obesity rate, their obesity isn’t affected by malicious government tactics, rather other causes. Asian Americans have the lowest obesity rate, 17.4%. The large majority of Asian Americans are first and second generation immigrants, meaning that Asian Americans weren’t subject to segregation and other pre-segregation socio-economics that would force them into poor areas. Notice the correlation between poverty and obesity? Poverty plays a factor in the high obesity rates of African Americans, as well as Latino and Hispanic Americans. The high poverty rates of these communities are also affected by socio-economics that were diminished during times of segregation, as well as sometime after. A few examples being court bias, which unreasonably jailed minorities, unequal education, and as mentioned previously, redlining. It was difficult for minorities (African Americans and Latinos) to succeed in a country where majorities didn’t allow them to. In simple terms, the more poverty there is in a select demographic, the more obese the demographic becomes.

            Culture and societal standards also play a significant role in the obesity rates of American demographics. Take Asian Americans for instance.  Asian Americans have the lowest obesity rate by far when compared to African Americans, Latino Americans, and European Americans. This is irregular because, in my previous logic, “The more poverty there is in a select demographic, the more obese the demographic becomes.” This means that Asian Americans should have a higher obesity rate than European Americans because their poverty rate is higher (slightly). Although my previous logic is in fact correct, culture can affect the obesity rate of demographics. Asian Americans are largely first and second generation immigrants. This being taken into account, Asian Americans have close cultural ties to their country of origin. East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea typically have a current society that rejects overweight citizens. For instance, Japan has a legal waistline limit on women, 40 years old and up, of 33.4 inches, and a legal waistline limit on men, 40 years old and up, of 33.5 inches. The average waistline of an American male is approximately 40.2 inches, and for women 20 to 30 years old, 37.1 inches. For women 60 and over, 39.9 inches. It’s obvious that Japanese immigrants would be thinner than Americans due to these laws. In Korea, people who are 5’4 and 93lbs match the beauty standards of their society. Koreans eat smaller portions of food on top of dieting to maintain their thin physique. Korean pop-stars and influencers also promote their thin beauty standards. Chinese citizens also partake in trends that supposedly measure one’s beauty, a popular one being the coin in the collarbone challenge, a challenge in which Chinese women attempt to stack coins in their collarbone gap. According to their logic, the more coins you are able to stack in your collarbone gap, the more pronounced your collarbone is, and the more pronounced your collarbone is, the thinner and prettier you are. Trends similar to this promote a thinner beauty standard. Other Asian countries follow suit, however it is of greater importance to focus on China, Korea, and Japan because the large majority of East Asian immigrants come from these three countries.

            Culture can prevent obesity, and culture can cause obesity. Take African Americans for instance. Culturally, African Americans create foods that are often unhealthy, such as Soul Food. Fried chicken and chitlins are two popular foods within the Soul Food category, as well as macaroni and cheese. According to healthline.com in Is soul food healthy?, “Many items commonly associated with soul food are linked to an increased risk of several illnesses, including heart disease. Yet, soul food can be made much healthier by emphasizing the tradition’s nutritious dishes.”  healthline.com also says, “This eating pattern is tied to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, stroke, and mental decline.” This can be interpreted as, “Soul food can be healthy, but only when you make it healthy.” After all, collard greens (a soul food) are a very nutritious leafy green.

            Returning to the general culture of America, fast food franchises promote obesity as well. The usage of bright colors such as the infamous red and yellow in the McDonald’s logo are a prime example. Red is a color of alert, energy, and action. The color red is also used to grab attention; this helps franchises attract customers while passing by their restaurants. The pituitary gland can be activated by the color red, which in turn encourages appetite. McDonald’s, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, and Burger King are the top five most popular fast food chains in America. Starbucks is the only fast food chain that doesn’t include red in their advertisements. Starbucks utilizes the color green instead, which also encourages customers to buy from them. The color green is a natural color, the color of the earth, and a peaceful color. Coffee shops are known to be calm and peaceful places, somewhere busy people can sit down, grab a coffee, and complete work on their laptops. The dark green in the starbucks logo promotes this idea perfectly.

Drive-thrus play a significant role in the consumption of fast food as well. The addition of Drive-thrus gives customers the convenience of purchasing cheap unhealthy food quickly from the added comfort of their personal vehicle. Drive-thrus also hook customers in. If a customer chooses to purchase fast food from inside a restaurant, they have time to think about whether or not they really want to buy the food. In order to buy from inside a fast food restaurant, a customer must find a parking spot, walk inside the restaurant, and wait in line. This process takes longer to complete than buying from a Drive-thru. All customers have to do when buying from a Drive-thru is enter the line. It is likely that other customers will be in the back and front of a customer, effectively blocking them in. If customers have difficulty exiting the Drive-thru line it is likely that they will buy food regardless of their appetite. Customers do this because they already wasted their time in line, so they buy themselves a treat as a self-reward.

Americans also buy a lot of fast food due to the sheer amount of fast food restaurants in America! Fast food franchises install their restaurants in densely populated areas as they know they will have more customers. The denser the population, the more fast food restaurants there are. This is no mistake. In this scenario, correlation is causation. Nothing is safe from the red wrath; schools utilize the color red in their foods as well. Bosco Sticks, served at FMS, use a white background on their packaging to make their red logo isolated. This effective tactic of isolation catches the eye of students passing by. Mozzarella breadsticks are also unhealthy. Mozzarella cheese is high in fat and the breadsticks are high in carbs. America was built on marketing, and America is continuously fueled by marketing. It is unlikely that we will see a change in these practices; Americans will continue to grow obese.

            As previously said, it is unlikely that we will see change in manipulative marketing tactics. However, there is a partial solution. As opposed to buying fast food and purchasing processed foods, cook your own meals. Cooking, and even growing your own foods (although difficult), isa lot healthier than consuming foods elsewhere. Local grocery stores such as Hannaford, ShopRite, and Price Chopper sell decently affordable foods that you can cook at home. These options may not be available to all Americans, especially those in food deserts, so take advantage of these opportunities if you can. For financial assistance, reach out to charity funds and other organizations that provide money needed to purchase nutritious foods. As always, be sure to get the recommended amount of daily exercise. Go on a walk, take a bike ride, or find a hobby that requires physical activity. YouTube has plenty of free exercise videos that you can watch, whether you’re looking for a short cardio exercise or a lengthy strength training exercise. Remember, the healthier you are, the happier you will be!

            Recognition of the obesity epidemic is growing, but a proper solution has yet to be achieved. In order to put an end to the ongoing obesity epidemic, we as people must unite and discuss actions that need to be taken. Let’s make America healthier.