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Essay / Obesity in the United States and How to Avoid It
Obesity has become a global problem over the years and it continues to grow. Obesity is prevalent in the United States of America and affects everyone, regardless of race, gender, or age. Obesity is commonly known as a disease in which excess fat accumulates on the body and increases the risk of developing other chronic diseases if not managed appropriately. Obesity is common in low-income areas, fast food franchises promote it as healthy, and there are many ways to reduce the risk of being obese. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Obesity occurs in low-income areas due to many factors. Work ethic is a contributing factor to obesity because most people in small towns work blue-collar jobs. For example, most people work as plumbers and construction workers. These jobs require a lot of long hours and physical labor, but they are paid very less than administrative jobs and jobs in large companies. As they spend most of their days working and earning money, they do not have the time or energy to take care of their health. So they tend to look for options like ordering takeout, eating out, or reheating frozen meals. People who eat fast food are more likely to develop obesity because they consume meals containing saturated fats, trans fats, sodium and added sugars. People living in poor rural areas generally do not have access to grocery stores and farmers' markets to purchase fresh produce, dairy products, and lean meats. Another factor is drug addiction. Drug use is a huge problem in America's inner cities and low-income areas. In order to feed their drug addiction, many people sacrifice food to save money to satisfy their drug needs. Thus, it leads to the formation of unhealthy eating habits and begins to have adverse consequences on the overall health of the individual and their appearance. Another factor that influences obesity is lack of health education. Rural communities do not know how to eat healthily, they often see advertisements and marketing campaigns used by fast food chains and are more likely to choose drinks and foods that are less nutritious for their bodies. In fact, these menu items simply aren't what they're marketed as. Fast food franchises invest a huge amount of money in advertising and marketing campaigns. For example, popular fast food restaurants like McDonald's and Taco Bell offer menus that grab your attention by using big, bright colors like red and blue. They display large images of menu items and keep the price of the item in small print, so customers don't notice it. Another technique used is that menus often state that the price of the hamburger is $8.69. So people are forced to think they're only paying $8.00, but in reality, after taxes, you're paying almost $9.00. Many of these places also offer value meals and dollar menus and customers tend to purchase multiple items from these menus because they think "It's just $1.00, or a few dollars", but in fact, these articles.