The real reason behind American obesity

Let’s face it: we’re a country composed of fat people. A report produced by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey noted that 58 million Americans are overweight, 40 million are obese and three million are morbidly obese.

Another study released by OECD Health Data measured American obesity to be as high as 30.6 percent, making America the most obese nation, followed by Mexico. That number more than doubles the global average.

Other studies give an even larger range of percentages varying based on the classifications and definition of obesity. What can be taken from these statistics, however, is that America has an unhealthy proportion of obese individuals. No pun intended.

This is not to criticize those that are obese. Obesity has been linked to factors outside of personal control, such as heredity. Some people have unfortunate DNA that allows them to gain weight much faster than others. These factors can contribute to the defense of obese individuals, but it unfortunately does little to explain the problem of obesity in America. If obesity was simply due to DNA, one would expect to see a global similarity and a fairly consistent rate.

The most common response to this problem is always aimed at fast food corporations such as McDonald’s. The recent health craze sweeping through our nation has fought even harder to strengthen the condemnation towards chains such as McDonald’s, citing unhealthy foods and improper labels and warnings of such traits.

I, however, will choose not to hop on this bandwagon. While fast food corporations are not free of criticisms in my eyes, they are not the cause of obesity in America. Americans are.

Could someone truly argue that cigarette companies kill people? Being a part of Just Eliminate Lies, I would say many people would argue yes. But the true question is if someone can be right in arguing cigarette companies kill people. I would say no. As disgusting as an industry it may be, cigarette companies simply supply the means for people to kill themselves.

Cigarettes must be purchased and smoked in order to cause illness. A gun must be shot before someone dies. A bridge must be jumped before someone falls into the water. The same can be said for fast food. The food must be eaten in order to become obese. Unless of course you argue that bridges kill people.

I believe it goes without saying that McDonald’s is unhealthy, especially in large amounts. While not true for everything on the menu, a large majority of items at any fast food restaurant’s menus are loaded with fats, oils and calories. But if this were a known fact, why would people eat it?

Sure, it’s cheap, easy and fast, but why would someone eat something if they knew it will likely lead to diminished health and increased obesity?

Our unhealthy nation is not the result of McDonald’s or Burger King. It is the result of us eating McDonald’s and Burger King. If our country decided not to eat such unhealthy foods and opt for better alternatives, the fast food chains would slowly die. At least in our country.

Talking to a kid from Portugal, he explained that he couldn’t even eat at a McDonald’s. His family, he told me, always dined at their own home, eating fruits and vegetables from their garden and locally grown meat. McDonald’s, he explained, was not appealing and he didn’t even know where the nearest location was. Needless to say, this kid is nowhere near our standard of obesity and Portugal has one-third the amount of obesity of America.

Americans need to stop putting the blame on the scapegoat of fast food. While it may be the unhealthiest industry in the world, we fuel it. We eat the food that makes us gain weight and then criticize their business. This paradoxical blame may have worked in the early years of the fast food industry before the health effects were better known, but it is too late to blame an industry that provides for us what we want. There is no way to make McDonald’s both delicious and healthy. It is the grotesque lack of nutrition that makes the food so good. If we want to become a healthy nation, we need to eat like one. Even if that means eating a bland salad instead of a juicy burger. But do we have that self-control?