Unit 3b

The Big Times

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of obesity is a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body. You will also see a picture of the United States of America right next to that definition. I'm Just kidding. Seriously though the problem of obesity in America is no laughing matter. It has become quite the epidemic. Around an estimated 300,000 deaths are linked with obesity and yet we just keep on eating.

Many of us love going to fast food restaurants because, to us, it's delicious, easy and pretty darn cheap. Realistically though all of the things we think of as advantages are really not as good as we think they are. In the long run we lose. Big time.

A McDonald's supersize extra value meal has 1,500 calories. That meal is packed with hydrogenated and saturated fats. It's not just McDonald's though its restaurants everywhere. According to a wonderful little book called “It This Not That” by David Zinczenko many meals that you didn't think were too bad are actually quite harmful to your health. For example Applebees has made quite the concoction with their appetizer sampler. It has 2,510 calories. Even the avocado and grilled chicken from Cheesecake Factory has an unimaginable 1,750 calories.

Yet it's not just the calories. It's the amount of food we ingest as well. We “super size” everything. From McDonald's up to the swanky restaurants and even the movie theaters we eat more than we've ever eaten before. Even our dinner plates are made bigger these days then they were just several years ago. The dinner plate has been enlarged ten to twelve inches.

So what comes from all of this unhealthy overeating? Well did you know that health that the medical care costs of obesity in the United States in 2008 totaled about $147 billion? Obesity is known to be a direct link to all sorts of diseases. Diabetes, stroke from diabetes, heart disease, cancer and even arthritis can be directly linked to being overweight. That's kind of what happens when we think that eating a McDonald's value meal is cheaper than eating some fruits and vegetables. In the moment yeah it's cheaper but in the long run it's very expensive. All the medical bills you'll be paying will hurt your wallet more than those fruits and vegetables ever did.

Many people believe that eating fast food is, well, fast and really easy. No need to cook, just head on over to the nearest fast food joint and you'll have your order in a couple of minutes. For the most part that isn't quite as true as most people believe. By the time you get in your car, (Because Lord knows your not going to walk to the fast food joint two blocks from your house) get in line, pay and finally get your food you could have easily made a quick sandwich which will probably not only be healthier but also a smaller portion then that big mac.

Whats that? You won't be full after just one normal sized sandwich? I bet you, you will probably feel just as satisfied from that sandwich as you are from when you eat a big mac. How do I know this? Well because of a little experiment done by Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at the Pennsylvania State University. In Rolls's study she took several lean young men who where known to eat normal portions of food and gave them different portions of mac-and-cheese on different days for lunch. When they where given the jumbo twenty-five ounce lunch they ate fifteen ounces of it even thought a day or two ago they had been given sixteen ounces and ate only ten. That was fifty percent more than what they had eaten before. So basically if there are bigger portions given to us then we will eat them no matter how much we normally eat and we still feel just as satisfied even when portion sizes are different. So when eating food, if you do go out to a restaurant, automatically put like half of whatever you have into a doggy bag and set it aside or if you eat at home use a smaller plate. You'll feel just as satisfied.

So you see my friends, eating healthy food in normal portions is good for you and thankfully, for all of our sakes, America is becoming obsessed with losing weight and eating healthy. There are T.V shows like “ The Biggest Loser” which shows overweight people trying to lose weight. They give many tips and recipes that we, the viewers, can use ourselves. There are popular programs such as Weight Watchers that help people to eat healthier and lose weight. Plus restaurants are getting healthier things on their menus, and because of the government restaurants must now show consumers the nutritional value of their menus if we ask. Even Michelle Obama is getting on the health wagon.

So instead of getting the big mac get the salad or just make a sandwich at home. If you do I promise you'll feel better not only in the moment, knowing you made the better decision but you're body will also thank you in the long run... and so will you're wallet.