Obesity has become a serious health problem in the United States, Americans eat more calories than they expend as a result, the body stores an excess as fat. Nutrition journalist Greg Critser presents a critical analysis of many researches that give specific reasons why Americans became the fattest people in the world. According to Critser, the obesity epidemic is the result of multiple, complex and interacting dynamics which include governmental, economic, industrial, agricultural and social factors.
At the beginning of the book, Critser reviews the main factors that led to the increased availability and consumption of high-calorie and low nutrient dense foods in the USA. In 1971, President Richard Nixon nominated Earl Butz for the post of…show more content… For example, the strategy supersize me by McDonalds influence how much people consume. The supersize me option was the next size up from a large, this give people an option to order more and do not feel guilty or being judged by other. Since that time, 1970's, the food portions per meal have increased tremendously. For example, a serving of french-fries in McDonald’s went from 200 calories in 1960 to 540 calories in the late 90s and to the present 610 calories (page 28). In addition, another fast food franchises followed along the same path and increased their food size. Fast food has become a major part of American life and the percentage of meals eaten away from home increased dramatically between the 1970s and the 1990s. “In 1977 the proportion of meals consumed away from home was 16 percent; by 1987 that figure rose to 24 percent; by 1995 to 29 percent” (p.32). Alongside an increase in consumption of food outside, Americans spent less time preparing meals that are consumed at home. Low and middle class families often work several jobs to make ends meet and have little time for food preparation. In addition, roles in families have shifted with women working full-time, as a result, meal preparation at home has decreased…show more content… As Americans began to gain more weight, they wanted to lose the weight without losing their gluttonous lifestyle and did not want to improve eating and physical activity habits. People who were obese wanted to lose their weight fast and easy without much difficult change. Therefore, dietitians created what the public wanted, for example, “In 1990, even as obesity rates spiraled upward, the committee wanted not only to loosen the weight guidelines again, it also wanted to do something it had never done before. It wanted to tell Americans that it was okay to gain significant pounds as they got
