The Obesity Epidimic

The Obesity Epidimic


The Obesity Epidimic


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Obesity. A disorder that millions of people in America suffer from. It is an epidemic faced upon this country. While there are solutions that have been implemented to decrease the rate of obesity, more and more people are becoming obese.

Environment is a big factor in the obesity rate. Some people don’t have access to good quality food. The government should provide money to help bring healthier foods to communities that do not have access to such foods.

One of the leading factors of obesity has to do with the environment. A lot of people in America live in communities in which they do not have access to good quality food, also known as food deserts.

”23.5 million people live in low-income areas more than one mile from a supermarket.”(

A lot of these people do not have access to cars for transportation to and from grocery stores. Also, it would be difficult for people to lug groceries home. Therefore, the government should provide money to build grocery stores closer to communities that do not have access to these stores.

Many adults in America are considered either overweight or obese. According to surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2012,


If you had a room of 12 adults, about 8 of them would be considered overweight or obese. That is more than half of the people who are not of normal weight. These rates of obesity can be impacted by the amount of fast food restaurants that people are surrounded by instead of healthier foods establishments.

While there can be causes to obesity, there can also be impacts to it. Obesity can lead to many different health issues. Some major effects of obesity can be heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, joint problems, and cancer. (Stanford Healthcare).

Obesity is one of the leading factors to the death of adults in America.

“ Each year obesity-related conditions cost over 150 billion dollars and cause an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the US.”(Stanford Healthcare).

The effects of obesity are life risking and costly. When people have health problems, they have to make more visits to the doctor and that can cost a pretty penny.

Money should be provided to give people without access to healthy foods such access. Also, I believe grocery stores should be placed in areas highly saturated with fast food restaurants.

With the obesity epidemic on the loose, things need to be done to decrease the rates. The environment that people live in contributes to the increase of obesity.

Many people live in environments that only have convenience stores and fast food restaurants. They may not have access to the healthy foods they need in order to contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the government needs to funds the construction of grocery stores closer to communities with no access to these establishments.


About the Author

Taylor Brown is a senior Cesar Chavez – Capitol Hill High School. When she graduates, she wants to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing.  Taylor hopes to pursue a career in the medical field. She enjoys helping people in need. Some things that she has interest in are music and books. Things that have different genres are very interesting to her and she reads and listens to music every day.


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The Obesity Epidimic