Cause And Effect
Monserret 1
Nancy Monserret
Essay: Cause and Effect
Draft#1
Writing 0990/Section #008
Date: 03/05/09
Obesity
The numbers don’t lie. According to Forbes, (Forbes 2007) 74.1 percent of Americans who are over the age of 15 years are obese. Obesity in America is increasing at an alarming rate with the United States ranked ninth in the world for obesity, and ranked number one with the largest population of obesity due to the lack of nutritional and exercise knowledge. Poverty plays a factor in obesity as well. Obesity has no prejudices. Anyone of any ethnicity, age, sex or height can be obese. You can even be born overweight.
In elementary school we are taught about the four major food groups. Grains and breads group, fruits and vegetables group, milk and dairy group and the meats group. It is recommended that we eat these certain foods in portions. But preparing these foods can take some time away from our busy schedules. As a result we tend to solve this issue with fast food. It’s convenient and it’s fast! The downfall for this solution is the caloric intake. A McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese, large fries, and a large coke equals out to 1350 calories (McDonalds 2009). For an average woman that is ¾ of her caloric intake for the day and for an average man its ½ their caloric intake. A child between the ages of 4-6 years of age needs 1800 calories in a day. A “Happy Meal” has 710 calories in one meal which is almost ½ of their caloric intake, and this is before they have even touched breakfast or dinner.
Monserret 2
Although lack of nutritional knowledge is a factor, a person’s activity level plays a major factor. Physical activities have been replaced with the inventions of video games, electronic devices and the television. It is recommended to exercise 3 to 5 days a week for 30-45 minutes. This can be any type of physical activity that can increase your heart rate which can reduce excess body fat which in turn...
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