Obesity in America

Often when I have an extra dollar laying around and I am driving in my car I go to the drive-thru at McDonald's or Burger King. There I can get a double cheeseburger for only one dollar. This, I realized, is the source of America's Obesity.

America's food system causes millions of Americans to be overweight. According to the Surgeon General, two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity significantly increases the risk of other health problems and death. The reason for all these extra pounds is that healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food. For example, a salad costs more than a Big Mac, as shown in the graphic above. The government makes recommendations to eat healthy food such as vegetables, but spends the majority of its money for food production on meat and dairy, which are high in fat.

Healthy food can be found at grocery stores and upscale restaurants. The problem is that the food there is much more expensive than a fast food restaurant. As a result, the rate of obesity among poor people with low incomes is quite high. The poor neighborhood of South Bronx in New York has one of the highest obesity rates in the country, as talked about in this article from the New York Times. Poor people often work more jobs with longer hours, and do not have as much time to exercise or grocery shop. Furthermore, there are fewer grocery stores in poor neighborhoods. Even at the existing stores, organic food is significantly more expensive than processed and packaged food. In order for the health of our country to improve, the government has to educate Americans to make smart eating choices, and more importantly to have healthy food available. How do you think the problem of Obesity in America can be solved?