Our Toxic Environment: Obesity In America

Words: 1025
Pages: 5
Open Document
Our Toxic Environment Why is obesity in America becoming increasingly relevant? The continual expansion of the nation’s waistline has pushed obesity to the top of the list of major health problems in the United States. Few have even explored beyond personal responsibility to the progressive options of federal nutrition assistance, certain restrictive assistance programs, or school health initiatives. Obesity has become an increasingly widespread issue throughout our culture, primarily due to the availability of cheap food lacking any nutritious value, and marketing from big corporations built on the ignorance of the average person. Observing a day in today’s society demonstrates the quick and substantial ignition of obesity. People …show more content…
There is a hormone that sends signals to the brain telling us that we aren’t hungry anymore. This hormone is called leptin. Studies in the past to present time show leptin isn’t doing its job of letting us know when to quit eating. The cause of leptin resistance is the holy grail of obesity research. Insulin, which blocks leptin in the brain, is the diabetic hormone to decrease blood sugar. So it only makes sense that increase in sugar intake leads to an increase in insulin secretion. Have you ever wondered where the sugar goes, though? It goes to the fat for storage. Insulin gets rid of sugar by evolving it into fat; that is its job. Overinsulinization which diabetics or sugar addicts are exposed to instantaneously turn a portion of the calories consumed into fat before the metabolism has a chance to burn it off. Once insulin levels spike and kill off the blood sugar it creates the widely known sugar crash. This makes you feel bad because things that produce energy expenditure or store calories (starvation, hypothyroidism) make you fatigued, similar to the stress response being overloaded with school work to do but deciding to take a nap instead. Things that increase energy expenditure (caffeine, exercise) make you feel good. This is obviously a poor turn of events for diabetics, but we are all internally doing the same thing seeing as how we make too much of our own insulin due to excessive sugar …show more content…
Although it is damaging to our systems, increase sugar intake may result in a sweet addiction, which drives their profits. It’s almost impossible to buy packaged food where there aren’t extra sugars that are just toxic to metabolism levels. The economics and supply of food is a great determining factor in obesity of our people. In reality, our problem with weight will never be solved until we enforce food policy changes. Past public health measures which include Fluoridation of water and immunizations are widely accepted and encouraged today although they initially faced very much antagonism. A massive step the government needs to make is to eradicate junk foods like we have cigarettes in recent years. Stores lace 80% of their products with excess sugar. It is almost out of the consumer’s choice which is why they need to be protected. Sugar, being toxic and abused at the same time, such as nicotine, ethanol, cocaine, meth, morphine, and heroine calls for a similar action. Public health officials consider regulation based off 4 criteria. Unavoidability = check, Toxicity = check, abuse = check, and lastly a negative impact on society =
Show More

Related Documents: Our Toxic Environment: Obesity In America

Essay about Organic Food

conventional farming provides more food and is typically cheaper, it is more hazardous to people’s health and the environment. So in most people’s opinion, organic food obviously sounds healthier to consume and probably better for the environment since there are no strange chemicals or radiation being used on the food. Organic farming produces healthier foods that are better for people and the environment than conventional foods by using non pollutant fertilizers/pesticides, providing good animal welfare,…

Words 3725 - Pages 15

Obesity: Obesity and Obesity Prevention Programs Essay

University First Draft Research Paper "OBESITY" There was a time, not so long ago, that obesity was considered a sign of health, wealth, and beauty. No a days many factors can lead to energy imbalance and weight gain. They include genes, eating habits, how and where people live, attitudes and emotions, life habits, and income. Psychological and behavioral issues play significant roles in both the development and consequences of obesity. There are many issues that may arise…

Words 2755 - Pages 12

Chield Obesity Essay

Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is one of the most prevalent issues that needs to be alleviated. Children have to comprehend that if they keep on consuming fattening foods, their chances of developing diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes increases significantly. I am proposing a solution to prevent childhood obesity. The proposal is to spread awareness of this epidemic by educating parents and their children about the dangers of obesity and how to prevent it. Every school should have a mandatory…

Words 2876 - Pages 12

Nutrition and New York Essay

tax on foods with low nutritional value to lower the prices of fresh produce. Lowering food prices, however, may not be enough—the government should also sponsor educational programs to change people's attitudes about eating. We tend to blame the obesity epidemic in the United States on people making the wrong lifestyle choices—for example, eating a Big Mac instead of carrot sticks or Twinkles instead of an apple. New research shows, however, that the price of healthy food may be too high for many…

Words 4098 - Pages 17

Colon Cancer Essay

mutates into a cancerous tumor. The cancer cells invade and destroy nearby tissue and can break away to form new tumors in other parts of the body. This is call metastasis.” (Center, 2013) There are other risk factors such as a family history and environment. There is new research and data about the pathophysiology of colon cancer. “Researchers detail in Hypoxia inducible factor-1 mediates expression of galectin-1: the potential roll in migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells. The expression…

Words 1307 - Pages 6

Green Farming Essay

literally killing America. The numbers for obesity, diabetes and cancer are on the rise every day. Four out of the top ten killers in this country are food related. (Pollen) Somewhere along the line farmers lost sight of what they were doing and decided that money was the only thing that mattered. Large producers and agriculture businesses have taken over the farm subsidies programs which have resulted in food types that are not healthy for Americans. What green farming means to America is a greater…

Words 2269 - Pages 10

The Global Trade Debate Essay

ingredient it is child slavery? Thankfully, I can said that I don’t like chocolate, so I don’t feel guilty for consume it. However, should I feel comfortable? Or should I think about what I am consuming that its production leads into harm our people, our animals and our planet? After I watched the “Global Trade Video”, I started to think deeper about the damage that consumerism is doing to innocent people. Based upon this DVD, I tend to see it from a Marxist perspective because it talks about how the…

Words 1651 - Pages 7

Whole Foods Paper

Introduction: Company Background/Current Situation The company that we chose to internationalize is Whole Foods Market. This is an American company, founded by 4 men with previous experience in the grocery business. John Mackey and Renee Lawson worked at a grocery store called Safer Way Natural Foods, and Craig Weller and Mark Skiles worked at Clarksville Natural Grocery. These four men thought that it would be wise to combine their expertise and merge these companies and create Whole Foods Market…

Words 4107 - Pages 17

Research Paper On GMO

Genetically Modified Organisms | in Food | | Team Members: | | Team Leader: Brenda Brown | Outline Abstract by Brenda Brown and Tony Balch 3 Thesis Statement and Summary by Kelly Baker and Brenda Brown 4 GMO Technology by Vanessa Brogsdale 5 I. What are GMO’S? II. Scientific Techniques and Experiments History of GMO by Vanessa Brogsdale 12 I. Biotechnology Timeline II. Advantages and Disadvantages Political and Legal Issues by Brenda Brown…

Words 14588 - Pages 59

Coca-Cola Business Strategy Essay

response from consumers. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola is moving towards the direction of becoming a beverage-snack company. 2.2.4 Development of New Alliances Coca-Cola Co. is divided into six operating units which include:- • North America Group • Latin America Group • Greater Europe Group • Middle East and Far East Group • Africa Group • Minute Maid Group The distribution of Coca-Cola has reach to more than 200 countries around the globe. With such a vast and spread out consumer base…

Words 8355 - Pages 34