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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

WRTC 103 Section 41
Matthew Hackel
James Madison University

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

Abstract
In the last three decades, obesity has become an increasing problem and has
led to being the number one cause of death in the U.S. This issue however,
is not seen as a problem to all. Some people think that the Department of
Health is making a bigger deal out of the issue than what it really is. Most of
the articles written on the subject are in agreement that obesity is a serious
problem and needs to be taken care of. The public school system takes a lot
of blame for childhood obesity because of the way school lunch is served.
U.S. school lunches compared to other countries lack in nutrition and are
actually more expensive. Junk food sponsorships in school are another big
factor that almost force kids to eat the junk foods. Obesity not only causes
physical problems, but also psychological problems that are made clear in
later years of their life.

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

Childhood obesity is ruining the health and image of America. There
are millions of kids that are not living healthy lifestyles and there are many
people and groups to blame for this. Fast food companies, big snack
corporations, public schools and even parents are all to blame for this issue.
Obesity in the US and especially in children has been a recent issue that only
came to light about two decades ago. Obese means a child is severely
overweight with a BMI that is equal to or greater than the 95th percentile.
However, overweight means that a child is above an average and healthy
weight, and can lead to obesity. Obesity normally occurs in people who do
not eat properly or exercise. This is not just a problem for children, but adults
have to eat and exercise as well to maintain good health.
The article, What Japan Can Teach us About School Lunches written
by Dana Woldow, reflects on the poor school lunch choices made by the
American public school system. Japan has an obesity rate of 3.6 percent,
while the US has a massive 32 percent rate (Woldow, 2014, p.1). One reason
for this is the school lunches served to the children. School lunches in the US
are extremely unhealthy, cheap and disgusting. Meanwhile, school lunches in
Japan are all healthy, made from scratch and well portioned. This is due to
school funding in both countries. Public education in the US is terribly funded
and the school lunches are also under funded. In Japan however, the focus

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

on education is much greater and there is also more of a concern for the
childrens health. The school lunches are paid for by the parents, not the
government. "Municipalities pay for labor costs, but parentsbilled monthly
pay for the ingredients, about $3 per meal, with reduced and free options
for poorer families" (Woldow, 2014, p.6). This can be accomplished because
the ingredients used to make the meals are relatively cheap, but are still
healthy and portioned well. The main component of these meals is rice which
is very cheap and can be used as a starch for any meal. The final reason that
the kids are less overweight, is that there is much more discipline in Japan
than in America. Kids in Japan are taught to be thankful and eat whatever
they are given; while in America if a child doesnt like what they are given to
eat they might throw a fit and have the parent change the food. This allows
for the schools to have everyone eat the same meal, which also saves
money. There are many other countries similar to Japan that set a good
example of what school lunches should include.
Teen Food Options Promote Obesity and Poor Health written by Eric
A. Finklestein and Laurie Zuckerman is an in depth look at the physical and
psychological effects of childhood obesity. The article begins with a
staggering statistic of the percentage of overweight children. The rate of
overweight 6 to 11 year olds tripled from 4 percent to almost 19 percent
during the past 30 years. The rate for 12 to 19 year olds mirrored that jump,
with an increase in prevalence from 6 percent to over 17 percent
(Finklestein & Zuckerman, 2013, p.1). This increase in overweight kids has
also led to an increase in discrimination and harassment between kids. The

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

study found that children who were overweight rated their quality of life as
being similar to children who were being treated for cancer (Finklestein &
Zuckerman, 2013, p.3). This is because kids relate being fat as something
bad, and make overweight kids feel self-conscious and different. Harassment
such as this, can also lead to alcohol and tobacco abuse in the future. The
psychological tolls of obesity are bad, but the physical tolls are just as bad as
well. Life expectancy of overweight people are low, but life expectancy of
overweight children are even worse. Nowadays kids at the age of 14 or 15
kid are being brought to the doctors for type 2 diabetes. This has serious
complications for them in the future and they will probably have a lower life
expectancy than their parents. Obesity also leads to heart failure, which is
the number one cause of death in the US and is a serious problem. Almost all
cardiovascular diseases are from obesity and a lack of good health. This is
due to an overall increase in caloric consumption from kids. A large portion of
this caloric increase, comes from an increase in ounces of soda drank.
Finally, the article touches on the issue of school lunches. Finklestein and
Zuckerman (2013) describe public schools sponsored by soda companies
active soda peddlars (p.7). This is true and it gives kids the option to be
extremely unhealthy, which is not a choice they should be making at this
age.
The last article, The Myth of an Obesity Tsunami written by Patrick
Bashan and John Luik, goes in the other direction of the previous articles.
While although admitting there is some sort of obesity issue; they claim that
the Department of Health is overreacting and that there is not a large

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

increase in obesity. The main source for their article comes from a survey
done on about 10,000 subjects of different ages, socioeconomic class, and
gender. The survey concluded that there was either a decrease or no change
in the obesity rate. there have been either declines or no significant
changes in male prevalence of overweight and obesity in all age groups from
16-54 (Bashan & Luik, 2015, p.1). The article doesnt blame junk food or an
unhealthy diet for obesity, but they say the main problem is a lack of
exercise. The root cause of any weight gains that one does see appear to lie
in physical activity levels (Bashan & Luik, 2015, p.1).
The first two articles have the similarity of thinking that school foods
are the problem. They both make claims that show how the public school
lunch system in the U.S. is. The way they go after the schools are different,
but they have the same overall theme; U.S. school lunches are a huge
reason for childhood obesity.
These articles also both agree on the fact that there is an obesity issue
in America and that it needs to stop. They see other countries as good
examples to follow and that there needs to be an overall shift in the way the
U.S. operates. They also both agree that an increase in childhood obesity is
the main factor for adult obesity.
On the other spectrum, the last article disagreed with the points the
other two articles made. They think that the obesity rate is actually
decreasing. However, the resources they used to make these conclusions are
outdated and could have changed since them. Nevertheless they dont see a
need to make an immediate change in Americas diet or lifestyles.

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

The third article also disagrees with the other two by stating that a lack
of exercise is the only reason for obesity and that diet and junk food has
nothing to do with it. The other articles see junk food as a direct relation to
obesity and see the public schools as the main source of junk food. This
makes for an interesting argument, but the two articles have more sources
and have a more convincing argument for their side.
The first article has a good amount of sources and statistics to back up
the information provided. However, the author has no real credibility besides
being an advocate for the issue. She posts frequently on a website for
educating parents on healthier school food. The other weakness is that the
topic is not 100 percent related to the research question. The article focuses
specifically on school food and less on childhood obesity.
This article has the most credibility out of all three. One of the authors
is a professor at Duke and an expert on the subject, while the second is a
writer on health care. Their statistics are all backed up with sources and they
hit an emotional appeal to the reader. The emotional appeal is where they
talk about how they personally feel on some issues such as how he study
found that children who were overweight rated their quality of life as being
similar to children who were being treated for cancer (Finklestein &
Zuckerman, 2013, p.3).
The two authors in the third article are scholars at Cato Institute and
one of them is the director of the Democracy Institute. Im not too sure what
these positions are, but they dont sound like experts on the subject. Their
research however, is based off a study by the CDC although the study is
slightly outdated. This actually is a very poor point because the research

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

they used was a study from 2007-2008 and most of their facts are from
before 2005. The article was produced in 2015 yet their data is from over 10
years ago which makes it almost insignificant. However, they do provide
solid information that could be used to draw conclusions about the future.
They try to use logos as their main source of reason because most readers of
this subject are parents who want the best for their kids.
From my research Ive learned that there are people who dont see
obesity as an issue in America even though heart disease is the number one
cause of death in America. Obesity is seen as a major issue in America by
most others and people are trying many different ways to prevent this,
mainly by changing the public schools. I personally, havent really changed
my viewpoint, but I think that some people do over react a bit to the issue,
even though it isnt something that can change overnight. I believe that
obesity is a real issue that needs to be taken care of in the US. However, I
think a change in the education system needs to happen before the changes
in our health happens.

Storyboard
Images (general or specific, location if known): Japanese flag
Design (background color, font style, special effects): Pink triangle background
Sounds (music, sound effects):

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?
Narration/Text (the actual text that you would record to accompany this slide): Facts
from article

Images (general or specific, location if known): Fat person and junk food
Design (background color, font style, special effects): Pink triangle background
Sounds (music, sound effects):
Narration/Text (the actual text that you would record to accompany this slide): Facts
from article

Images (general or specific, location if known): Tsunami

Design (background color, font style, special effects):Pink triangle background
Sounds (music, sound effects):
Narration/Text (the actual text that you would record to accompany this slide): Facts
from article

References
Bashman, P., & Luik, J. (2015). The myth of an "obesity tsunami" Retrieved
March 20, 2016.
Finklestein, E. A., & Zuckerman, L. (2013). Teen food options promote obesity
and poor health. Retrieved March 20, 2016.

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Is Americas Obesity Problem a Myth?

Hoffman, J. (2015). Parents Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic.

Retrieved March 20, 2016, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/health/parents-denial-fuels-childhoodobesity-epidemic.html?_r=0
Kaneshiro, N. K. (n.d.). Causes and risks for obesity - children: MedlinePlus
Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000383.htm
Woldow, D. (2014). What japan can teach us about school lunches. Retrieved
March 20, 2016.