Preview

Mountain Dew Epidemic

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
974 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mountain Dew Epidemic
With our nation being the most obese country there is, that is telling you something. We eat too much, and too much of the wrong things. Why are we not like the Oriental Cultures, who eat good nutritional food and of course are not overweight. You think that we would catch on, and notice that we have a problem. If 1 out of every 4 people are overweight, think about it, we definitely have a problem. Our nation should do everything in its power to prevent this from happening. Being overweight leads to disabilities, chronic heart problems, respiratory problems, diabetes, etc. It is affecting so many people out there, that you would think we would try a little harder to prevent this. What are we trying to do to prevent all these problems? We are …show more content…
I know that when I wake up in the morning, that I crave either a coffee, or a Mountain Dew. The coffee craving doesn’t bother me too much. I don’t feel bad about having that addiction. But when I crave a Mountain Dew in the morning, I know that I have a problem. I know I need to kick the habit, and it’s not killing me right now. Nobody thinks about the future effects of what they are doing. If it isn’t hurting me now, then who really cares? A typical vending machine can make a average of $250 a day. If we increase the tax on what comes out of the vending machines, where will that extra money really go? Right back to the companies trying to sell you there products. A study followed over 5,000 people for a period of 20 years, tracking their food consumption, height, weight, and blood sugar levels. Researchers also tracked changes in food prices during this same period, and found that incremental increases in the prices of soda and delivery pizza were associated with incremental decreases in consumption of these items. For every 10% increase in cost, there was a 7% decrease in the number of soda calories consumed, and an 11.5% decrease in a pizza calories consumed. Using the numbers obtained in their study, the authors suggested that an 18% surcharge on soda and junk food alone can reduce average daily calorie consumption by 56 calories per person per day, which would mean a weight loss of 5 pounds per person over a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    It seems that obesity will always be a problem with no solution. For once it would be merely impossible to find a solution that everyone likes or even one that the majority will support. There are different points of view in which someone could try to figure something out to at least help with the matter of obesity. ABC News is trying to tackle the problem and inform people on obesity by having a summit with Time magazine and discuss on various ways that would lower obesity in this country. Radley Balko mainly discusses the government point of view in his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business.” I agree with Balko’s essay since government needs to visualize the situation from different directions.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, the United States government should do something that can help the poorer families, and minorities get out of obesity. America should lower prices on healthier foods, and increase food taxes on unhealthy food. If America keeps ignoring obesity, the issue will be worse, and more Americans will be a victim to obesity, and health related problems in the…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We the people of the United States have a problem in our midst, Obesity. While most recognize the importance to stop it, few can agree on a viable method to fight it. It is a problem, no doubt, but it is a problem that lies within every single american. That being said, only people themselves can do something about it, the government can’t simply pass a few laws and put an end to this epidemic. It is not the government’s job to keep people healthy, the U.S. is a democratic Republic and if it intends to stay that way, government will stay within its boundaries, and out of the personal lives of the citizens who consider themselves free.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Soda Pop

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages

    More and more young people are experiencing hypertension and childhood obesity, and because of which are seemingly becoming more prone to various diseases (Should Government Tax Sugary Drinks?). Many take a stand on the issue, as New York for example no longer allows the use of trans fats in their restaurants. Still the cost of unhealthy food has remained nearly the same, while the cost of a high yield diet has soared beyond that of the rate of inflation (Should Government Tax Sugary Drinks?). The idea has been presented that the government place a tax on unhealthy food, such as America’s favorite – soda pop! Various valid points have been made in relation to how this “sin” tax could help to benefit our financial deficit and better influence the people (A Tax That Invests in Our Health). Others object, saying that the tax is a form of discrimination, separating us about our assumed character and wellbeing (Does This Tax Make Me Look Fat?). Though the answer seems so clear to some at first how to go about imposing such taxes, it is important that the complexity of the situation is recognized to see if the tax would be effective enough to be worthwhile.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In an official health report it states that “in 2009 in 9 states had adult obesity rates of 30 percent or more compared with only 3 states in 2005 and none in 2000.” With this growing rate our time for arguing is running out, the more time we fight the government the more it will spread throughout the…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rough Draft

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why are people in America overweight? It could be hereditary or a bad way of living one thing is true obesity is a very big problem. Many people feel that being overweight is a dead end and they either don’t know the proper way to start a weight loss program or are not motivated enough to even want to try. Whichever category you fall in some people do not do anything until they eventually die. Being overweight is a very big concern. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese”. “Obesity now affects 17% of all children and adolescents in the United States - triple the rate from just one generation ago”. Being overweight also comes with a lot of health problems such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    America - Land of the Free, home of the obese? As our country wages war against terrorism overseas, another domestic battle is taking place: the battle against fat. At the turn of the millennium, an estimated 64 percent of American adults were either overweight or obese (CDC). This unsettling statistic reveals the fact that the United States' proud citizens have trouble digesting, that we are the fattest country on the planet. In today's society, technological advances allow us to go about daily life with the least possible amount of physical exertion. Combine that with an infinite supply of cheap, delicious, and high-calorie food and it adds up to a problem of "supersized" proportion. It became official in 2000 when U.S. Surgeon General David…

    • 2646 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Essay 3 Final Draft

    • 2301 Words
    • 7 Pages

    There are several things that can be done to reverse the growing epidemic; yet important opportunities to tackle obesity at the national policy level, including changes that would enable more Americans to eat healthy and be active, have gone largely unmet. There have been many proposed solutions and as expected, none of them have been popular with Americans or the companies that are contributing to the problem. The battle of the bulge goes beyond exercising; physical activity has already been proven through studies to aid in reducing obesity. There are simply too many processed foods, pre-packaged…

    • 2301 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural Diet

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Our American culture is impacted by high obesity rates. We often are sucked into fad diet plans and exercises. Particularly in the black community we do not put our health first. Our cultural diet does not consist of dishes with health in mind. We are riddled with obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and etc. All of these disease can be prevented by diet. Why is my community plagued with these preventable diseases? There is a lack of consciousness and education of health.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Obesity Epidemic Analysis

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Obesity is a worldwide epidemic recognized to the highest extent by the World Health Organization. Countries like the United States, Great Britain and other European and First world countries have started to take steps to try and reduce the colossus that is obesity. With obesity being such a problem in the United States, people are doing what they can to help. The economy, fast food restaurants, stigmatization and discrimination towards the disease, and advances in technology, people are fighting a problem that's fighting back, and it seems to be winning.…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It remains one of the biggest problems in American society and requires a careful, systematic but also immediate solution. Americans are some of the least healthy people in the entire country. The obesity epidemic affects millions of people in the United States. Sadly, enough obesity is a problem that affects everybody, not just adults. Obesity has increased in the past decade, predominantly with people who eat poorly; this is so sad. You may not notice it, but, weeks turn into months and months turn into years and the next thing you know your clothes don’t fit the way they used to and the entire time you never even noticed yourself gaining weight.…

    • 1827 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    America is the red, the blue, and the white. We are a great nation with amazing abilities to influence the world. However in the recent years, obesity has increased drastically. Over one third of America’s population is obese. (Go Red Flag) In fact, obesity is starting to take over America, but it needs to come to an end. Obesity can lead to many health problems. For example, type two diabetes can be caused from being overweight. Strokes and breast cancer are also possible health problems caused from being obese. Obesity in America needs to be dealt with because it could possibly lead to type two diabetes, strokes, or breast cancer.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Just thinking about unhealthy food makes most Americans mouth water. Obesity in the U.S has become a huge problem in recent years. America's obesity epidemic has hit a new high with 35 percent of obesity among men and 40.4 percent among women in 2013-2014. Most Americans feel embarrassed to even walk next to an obese person or even go near them without feeling claustrophobic. Obese people are an embarrassment to society and are making America look like an unhealthy place to live.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Obesity has been a bigger and bigger problem in the United States over the past few years. The percentage of overweight American children and teens has more than doubled in the past decade (Greenblatt). There are many reasons that could lead to the increasing percentage of people being obese in American. The U.S. food industry aggressively markets high-fat, high-sugar, super-sized foods. Modern communities encourage driving rather than walking. Physical education is being dropped by schools even as fattening snack foods are welcomed onto campus (Greenblatt). None of these are the healthy ways to go for Americans but what is being promoted in our society. Americans are becoming less active and eating more fast food that is leading to our country becoming one of the most obese countries in the world.…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Obesity in America

    • 3126 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Although obesity is a massive problem in the United States, not many people actually know what obesity is. There are millions of Americans that would be considered obese by doctors, and they do not even realize they fall into that category. Most doctors consider men obese when they contain more than 25% body fat and women obese that contain more than 30% body fat. Based on those criteria, nearly 62% of Americans are considered obese and could possibly struggle from health complications in the near future ("Centers for disease control and prevention"). Those criteria seem pretty strict to many people but that is not the case. The human body is built to only carry a specific amount of weight, and although that may vary from…

    • 3126 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics