Weight gain is a widespread problem in many American households.

According to survey data

performed from 2017-2018 nearly 1 in 3 adults are overweight in some capacity, and about 1 in 6
children and adolescents between ages 2 and 19 are overweight (National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2021). Obesity is known to cause a myriad of health complications,
including but not limited to strokes, sleep apnea and breathing problems, heart disease, depression, and
anxiety (Center for Disease Control, 2021). For American citizens to better prevent obesity amongst
themselves, we must first examine the known causes of weight gain. Poor dietary choices caused by an
unbelievable amount of conflicting information and an overall sedentary lifestyle, are two of the major
reasons that people gain weight.

Many Americans find eating healthy to be a chore. “It’s too restrictive and expensive. I cannot
eat enough to get full or eat the foods I enjoy,” these are often the responses of someone who’s
attempting to diet for the first time. However, none of these excuses are true for those who are actively
eating healthier right now. Why is that? It is because eating healthier is more simple than we think and
varies a lot from person to person; furthermore, there is a lot of conflicting information on how we as
humans should diet. From the Atkins diet to dietary plans posited by the American Heart Association,
and diets based off the food pyramid there are many opinions on what kinds of foods people should and
should not be eating. With no clear indication of what diet is immediately best, few people are willing to
do the research, or the experiments, necessary to find out how foods affect them as individuals. As a
result, the average American will default to what is immediately available in their local grocery store:
cheap, overly processed foods, that are loaded with sugars.

In more recent years, America has become less active. It has been shown that from 2003-2004
the average American from the ages of 6 and up spent an average of 7.7 hours daily in sedentary
activities (Matthews et al., 2008). With the television being a staple part of many American homes, it has
become more common for families to spend time together watching the TV. Why play football when
people can watch the Superbowl, and their favorite college teams on a regular basis? Furthermore, desk
jobs have become quite common in the 21 st century; leading to a further increase in spending many
hours a day seated, and inactive. So, how does a sedentary life cause weight gain? Quite frankly it is
because when people are not engaged in physical activity, the body burns fewer calories. These calories,
specifically the ones coming from carbohydrates, are stored as fat in the body. Over an extended period,
gaining fat and burning fewer calories, one will start to see themselves gaining weight. Which will lead
to a myriad of health problems. It has been proven that spending most of the time sedentary will cause
metabolic dysfunctions, such as reduced bone density, and decreased insulin sensitivity (Jung Ha Park et
al., 2020).

In summary, it is apparent that America’s obesity problems are an extremely complex issue. No
one source can really be blamed for this as it all boils down to a lack of knowledge and lifestyle choices.
Every day we are inundated with advertisements from companies, claiming to have the easiest way to
lose weight and stay healthy. All the while we are dredging through conflicting information given by
many sources to try and eat healthier with no such luck. Then in our free time, all we do is sit around,
basking in the freedom to do nothing before we go back to our 9-5 working hours. Misinformation, and
sedentary living, those are major parts of why America has gotten fatter.
 References

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2021). Health Information: Overweight
& obesity statistics. https://www.niddik.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

Center for Disease Control (2021). Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences: Health consequences.
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes/html#Consequences

Matthews E. C., Chen Y. K., Freedson S. P., Buchowski S. M., Beech M. B., Pate R. R., and Troiano P. R.
(2008). Amount of time spent on sedentary behaviors in the United States, 2003-2004. American Journal
of Epidemiology, 167(7), 875–881. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwm390

Park H. J., Moon H. J., Kim J. H., Kong H. M., Oh H. Y., (2020) Sedentary lifestyle: overview of update
evidence of potential health risks. Korean Journal of Family Medicine, 41(6), 365-373.
https://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.20.0165