The Impact Of American Dietetic

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Culture on American Fat Problem

浅析美国饮食文化

对美国肥胖问题的影å"

系 别 外国语言与文化学院

ä¸" 业 英语（国际商务方向）

班 级 09941012

å­¦ç"Ÿå§"名 杨 è–‡

学 号 0994101203

导师å§"名 å·¦ 雁

导师职称 副 教 授

2013年4月14日

【摘 要】

美国而作为一个移民国家，拥有世界上最多元复杂的人文景致,各国文化在这里交流融合。复杂性和多样性就是它的招牌。但与笃信民以食为天的中国相æ¯"，美国的饮食指数恐怕并没有那么高，在饮食上的创意巧思也稍显欠缺。二战后食å"åŠ å·¥ä¸šçš„迅速发展以及快餐文化的汹涌è""延，使得美国食å"çš„总ä½"质量与口碑不断下降，ç"šè‡³è¢«å…¶ä»–国家冷嘲热讽，逐渐成为了“垃圾食å"â€çš„代名词。高糖分、高热量的美国现代饮食习惯，及其带来的肥胖的困扰。这不仅正挑战着传统而健康的饮食ç»"构，也在威胁着一代代美国人的身心健康。本文通过对于美国饮食文化的形成和发展从而简单分析其人民过度肥胖的原因。

本文除前言外共包括äº"章。

第二章简单说明了美国饮食习惯的现况以及肥胖问题愈加严重的重要性。

第三章重点介绍了美国特殊文化对其饮食的影å"ã€‚

第四章主要介绍了美国菜å"çš„ç»"构和特色。

第äº"章主要介绍了美国菜å"å¯¹å…¶äººæ°‘造成肥胖的影å"ã€‚

本文最后一章简单分析了肥胖对于ç"Ÿæ´»å’Œå·¥ä½œçš„å½±å"åŠå¦‚何解决肥胖问题的方法。

å…³é"®è¯ï¼šç¾Žå›½é¥®é£Ÿæ–‡åŒ–ï¼› 超重人群； 社会影å"ï¼› 快餐文化

【Abstract】

The United States as a nation of immigrants which has cultures and arts of various parts of the world. Complexity and diversity is the brand of it. Comparing with the notion of believing “Food is the first thing for people”, American’s pursuit of elaborate food is not as much as Chinese. American dietetic culture is much unoriginal and easier. After World WarⅡ, with the rapid develop of food processing industry and fast-food restaurants, as time passes, America is now synonymous with the term “junk-food”. The dietary habit with high sugar and high heat leads to the problem of overweight which is challenging the formation of American cuisine and its characteristics and threatening the generations of American’s health. This article will analyze the formation and development of America’s unique culture and its influence on culinary art, to find out the ways that make Americans get so fat by daily diet.

This thesis is composed of five chapters excluding introduction.

Chapter two briefly introduces the present situation of American daily diet and the importance of the obesity problem.

Chapter three highlighting inform America’s unique culture and its influence on culinary art.

Chapter four is an analysis of formation of American cuisine and its characteristics.

Chapter five analyzes why Americans become the fattest people in the world

The last chapter makes a summing up of obesity makes more and more clear impact on living and working and how should America solve its fat problem in sequence.

Key Words：American dietetic culture obesity social impact fast-food culture

Contents

â… . Introduction

Being an English major, I am deeply interested in American culture especially culinary art. Tow years ago, I was lucky to go to America to experience the different culture. By living there for 3 months, I found that America has a serious fat problem, which has already influenced its living and working. When you walk around you can see the overweight people, with about 30% of the population. It is estimated that the number will be 42% by 2030, and 11% will be severely obese. Suffice it to say, Americans are having a major fat moment. Fat problem should not be underestimated. Eating healthy can be mired in confusion and doubt. So it arouses my interest to find out the ways that make Americans get so fat by eating. I will analyze the background of America’s unique culture and its influence on culinary art, formation of American cuisine and its characteristics, why Americans become the fattest people in the world, and how should America solve its fat problem in sequence. On the one hand, I could simply analyze the reason why American people get fatter and fatter by daily diet. On the other hand, with the improved quality of life we have more choices. Choosing the healthy way to eat and drink will become the hot issue. I hope this research could help people stay away from fat problem and value their health more.

1.1 Purpose of this study

This article focused on analyzing what and how daily diet make Americans overweight, based on the view of former authors and professors’ research of healthy diet theory. By analyzing and finding out the reasons, this article could help the group of overweight people to find a way of staying away from fat problem. There are few methods and experiences in books or on the internet, so when people want to keep fit they can easily realize the reasons why they get fat. This article also introduces the way to eating and drinking healthy so that you can enjoy your better life.

1.2 Methodology and general approach of the study

The main methods used in this article are thorough reading, comparing, analyzing by former authors and professors’ research of healthy diet theory. First, give the clearly introduction to the background and development of America’s unique culture and its influence on culinary art. Second, analyze the formation of American cuisine and its characteristics and American’s eating habits. Third, list the result, by using internet and library, consulting related material, making the topic specific. Fourth, make a conclusion and give advice to the group of overweight people by reading and collecting materials widely, taking notes and making marks, finding out the examples to support the basic idea of this thesis

This paper will be written in serious manners, all reference books and papers that could find will be read and analyzed carefully.

1.3 Background of this study

Becoming even worse, fat problem is discussed by scholars and professors all over the world. People try to find out what and how a person eat could make himself overweight and how we can solve this matter.

Sun Lijuan(1976) pointed out that for the past two decades, the number of the group still increased rapidly. From 25.4% to 33.7%. Though Americans put a high value on the relation between diet and weight, intake excessive calories is the main reason.

According to a new issue published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of overweight people in the U.S. will grow to almost 42 percent of the country by 2030, and cost a whopping $550 billion in obesity-related health care costs per year.

Everywhere you look, attention is being drawn to America’s eating habits. First lady Michelle Obama recently launched a campaign urging children to eat healthy and get moving. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, whose hard-line diligence paid off in reforming the U.K.’s school lunch program, has now set his sights on America’s students. And the head of Sony Pictures within the past few weeks has made a plea to movie theater owners to provide healthy snack alternatives to popcorn and candy.

The problem was exacerbated, experts will bring more and more focus and research of this matter, there will be more articles about American’s fat problem influenced by their dietetic culture.

â…¡. Literature Review

The cuisine of the United States of America is characterized by diversity and regional delicacies. Until the late 19th century, American food history was a story of fairly distinct regional traditions that stemmed largely from England. The country's earliest English, Scottish, and Irish Protestant migrants tended to cling strongly to older food traditions. Yet the presence of new materials, and especially contact among diverse ethnic groups, would eventually encourage experimentation and innovation. Nevertheless, for more than two centuries, English food traditions dominated American cuisine.

One unique feature of the American diet from an early period was the abundance of meat--and alcohol. By the early nineteenth century, adult men were drinking more than 7 gallons of pure alcohol a year. Earlier diet habit leads to today’s obesity problem.

America's problem with swelling waistlines and T-shirts has reached pandemic proportions, according to federal health officials (FHO), who warns that obesity is absolutely becoming society's No. 1 killer. The US industrial food and farming system, dominated by fast food restaurants and processed, chemical-laden food, has precipitated a public health crisis.

Americans' obesity has also fattened many corporations. William L. Weis, a management professor at Seattle University, says revenue from the "obesity industries" would likely top $315 billion by 2006, and perhaps far more. That includes $124.7 billion for medical treatments related to obesity, $133.7 billion for fast-food restaurants, and $1.8 billion just for diet books -- all told, nearly 3% of the overall U.S. economy.

Data shows, according to consumer-research firm Mintel Group, that they guzzled $37 billion in carbonated beverages in 2004. The same year, they spent $3.9 billion on cookies, including $244 million of which were Oreo cookies sold by Kraft Foods for about $3.69 a package. In 2003, they splurged $57.2 billion on meals at restaurants such as Denny's, Chili's and Outback Steakhouse. Potato chip sales hit $6.2 billion in 2004. Americans spend much more money on fast-food than higher education, computer software or new cars. There are more than 90 percent of kids are eating Mcdonald's per month. Although nutritionists recommend that consumers avoid eating unhealthy junk foods, every day 75 million Americans "supersize" themselves and damage their health by eating at McDonald's or other fast food restaurants. 40% of American meals are now purchased and consumed outside the home, typically consisting of high-calorie, low-nutrition items such as soft drinks, French fries, and low-grade meat, laced with fat, cheap sweeteners, pesticide residues, chemical additives, and salt.

It is widely believed that the reason why western countries have a huge number of overweight people is that fat with dietetic culture is relative. Some people in America every day only have pizza and Coca-Cola for a month is not a surprising thing. In America you can find vending machine or fast-food restaurant everywhere besides schools, markets or other public places for the convenience of the residents so that people can have the junk food in any time they like. America is the leastest country where has dietetic culture. It’s don’t like China, we have a dozen Chinese cuisines, when we have a meal we cost so many labors and money on it, but American’s meal is as simple as they wear a T-shirt. Nothing but put a piece of beef in bread and adds some sauce, so hamburger restaurant always prevails like Mcdonald's, KFC, Subway, etc. Even like that Wendy’s still invent a lazy way (someone also called it a fast way) people don’t have to get off the car to order the meal. What you need is only drive to the window to order your meal, one minute later drive to another window to take it. So having meal becomes an assembly line.

Why do Americans eat mostly junk food instead of a healthy meal? First, convenience. According to a report published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in April 2008, 92% of surveyed teenagers and adults claimed they eat fast food because it is "quick," and 80% because the food is "easy to get to." Second, cost. Financial factors also play an important role in junk food popularity. Populations with high poverty rates exhibit more obesity, according to an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition report published in January 2004. The report also showed that foods high in calories, yet low in nutrients, tend to cost less and take less time to prepare. Third, taste. To many people, fried foods and salty or sugary snacks taste good. If whole-grain pancakes topped with fruit, rather than buttermilk pancakes topped with sugary syrup, and baked sweet potato wedges in place of French fries you may not get use to it.

There’s a measure for human body shape based on an individual's weight and height is called the body mass index ( BMI ).

Wikipedia says, ” In 1998, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought U.S. definitions into line with World Health Organization guidelines, lowering the normal/overweight cut-off from BMI 27.8 to BMI 25. This had the effect of redefining approximately 29 million Americans, previously healthy to overweight. It also recommends lowering the normal/overweight threshold for South East Asian body types to around BMI 23, and expects further revisions to emerge from clinical studies of different body types.

The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1994 indicated that 59% of American men and 49% of women had BMIs over 25. Morbid obesityâ€"a BMI of 40 or moreâ€"was found in 2% of the men and 4% of the women. The newest survey in 2007 indicates a continuation of the increase in BMI: 63% of Americans are overweight or obese, with 26% now in the obese category (a BMI of 30 or more). There are differing opinions on the threshold for being underweight in females; doctors quote anything from 18.5 to 20 as being the lowest index, the most frequently stated being 19. A BMI nearing 15 is usually used as an indicator for starvation and the health risks involved, with a BMI less than 17.5 being an informal criterion for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa.”

America has become a Fast Food Nation of bulging waistlines and high blood pressure. Americans need to be better educated about the food they eat, what's truly good, what's harmful, quantities that are necessary. We're going to eat the food that both satisfies our souls and our bodies, and will perpetuate our fat dysfunction.

Ⅲ. American’s Unique Dietetic Culture

We need to know the American history, its geography and the folk customs before to realize the American’s unique cuisine culture. The formation and development for the dietetic culture has two dominant factors: one is regionalism, the other one is diversity. America’s situation is very special. It has vast ground but short history. There are hundreds of different countries move to this land. How tremendous immigrants America has! They living here and building here make the America into a great melting pot. So the dietetic culture comes from the great melting pot. The most food Americans get is hamburger, French fries, pizza, pasta, sandwich, hot dog, fried chicken etc. which all comes from other Western European countries, such as steak, lamb chop, pork chop and fish steak even don’t invent in America. Some people declare seriously that all these foods don’t belong to American’s dietetic. So what is the real American food?

The culinary industry of America is not developed at an earlier stage. There are three reasons for the lower cooking skills as follows: First, deficient history and culture; Second, the National-Spirits are conservative; Third, America didn’t have the encourage and push by royal which Chinese, French, Italian, Spanish, even as Persians, Indian and Thai has the royal attaching great importance of delicacies.

3.1 Origin of the America cuisine

The cuisine of the United States refers to food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter. The various styles continued expanding well into the 19th and 20th centuries, proportional to the influx of immigrants from many foreign nations; such influx developed a rich diversity in food preparation throughout the country. Some dishes that are typically considered American have their origins in other countries. American cooks and chefs have substantially altered these dishes over the years, to the degree that the dishes now enjoyed around the world are considered to be American. Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, pizza is based on traditional Italian dishes, brought by Italian immigrants to the United States, but in their modern popular form they can be reasonably considered American dishes. While the earliest cuisine of the United States was influenced by indigenous Native Americans, the cuisine of the thirteen colonies or the culture of the antebellum American South ; the overall culture of the nation, its gastronomy and the growing culinary arts became ever more influenced by its changing ethnic mix and immigrant patterns from the 18th and 19th centuries unto the present. Some of the ethnic influences could be found in the nation from after the American Civil War and into the History of United States continental expansion during most of the 19th century.

3.2 Dietetic culture effects of America history

One important characteristic of American cooking is the fusion of multiple ethnic or regional approaches into completely new cooking styles. The cuisine of the South, for example, has been heavily influenced by immigrants from Africa, France, and Mexico, among others. Asian cooking has played a particularly large role in American fusion cuisine.

At the end of the 20th century, with the development of the culture, economic and transportation, Americans requirement of dietetic is much higher than before. Especially the America relaxed the immigration policy from 1965, all kinds of people came to America with their new cooking methods and new cooking acknowledges. These huge immigrants had a big impact on America’s culture, leads to a fantastic dinner on American family’s table.

â…£. Formation of American Cuisine and Its Characteristics

American cuisine is extremely diverse because the United States has long attracted immigrants from a wide variety of nations and cultures. While the American cuisine incorporates styles of cooking that takes something from each immigrant community, American cooks have exported a great variety of dishes around the world, and in many ways American cuisine is just as recognizable, and as popular as French, Chinese, or Indian. Most American cuisine developed as home cooking rather than haute cuisine. Typical foods include a large variety of beef, pork and chicken dishes, baked beans, barbecue, and clam chowder, not to mention the American-style candy bars and fast-food items that have been exported globally.

4.1 Formation of American cuisine

Because of the effect from immigration at the earlier age, the traditional American food is as the people there, “real” is the feeling of it. Cooking without any condiments just leave the original taste. American food is a frame about “one two three four”. Like a triangle, “one” refers to the beef; “two” refers to the chicken and fish; “three” refers to the pork, mutton and shrimps; “four” refers to breads, potatoes, corns and vegetables.

There’s no doubt that European food is the ancestor of the American food, but American food through its own efforts become the winner. Now American food covered all around the world. Amazed, we can find all the kinds of the food on American land.

4.2 Features of American fast food

Speaking of fast food, there is no doubt its popularity all over the world; it is closely related with our daily life. But why does fast food become so popular? By 1999, people who eat fast food more than 20 times a month, accounted for $66 billion of $110 billion spent on fast food. Life now becomes fast-paced. Everybody becomes busy in school, work, and in the community. This is one of the reasons why fast food is popular because it offers meals that are affordable. We do not need time to go home to cook. Fast food can solve hunger in time. And the branding of fast food chains is a major factor in their success. Now, fast food restaurant is very popular especially to teenagers because it is considered as a social place where friends meet and chat. While talking and discussing things, these teenagers also have their favorite food served in the fast food restaurant. With its popularity, fast food is now considered as the staple food of busy people. It is cheap, delicious, and served fast. People may eat fast food once in a while to satisfy our stomach but then they must limit eating fast food because it is unhealthy to the body.

4.2.1 Convenience

In America, 40% of the average person's food budget is spent on takeaways. Fast food outlets are take-away or take-out providers, often with a "drive-through" service which allows customers to order and pick up food from their cars, but most also have indoor and/or outdoor seating areas in which the customers can eat the food on-site. For many people can't cook, so going down the street to get fast food is the easier option. By mass-producing a relatively small menu, fast food restaurants are able to provide warm meals very quickly without encountering a significant loss through wastage. The idea of being able to order at a counter, receive your meal within seconds, and not have to worry about waiting to be seated, served or asking for a cash means that fast food restaurants are often the first choice for many diners who are in a rush.

4.2.2 Cost

Fast food restaurants are very popular because the prices for dishes are relatively cheap, for those not looking to spend much money, fast food is often seen as a good choice. Children like to spend time in this kind of institutions and whole family can have a good and interesting evening communication with each other and friends. The food is acceptable, and since most people can't afford to dine out at expensive places, fast food is always going to be first on mind.

4.2.3 Taste

45% of people in the UK who took part in a 2008 survey said that they liked the taste of fast food so much that they didn't think they would be able to give it up, even if they wanted to. This puts the UK ahead of even America, although 44% of the Americans surveyed loved their fast food just as much. Apparently some people get addicted to the taste of popular fast food because it contains just the right mixture of fat, sugar and salt to set off the pleasure chemicals in the brain. Experiments carried out on lab rats showed that when they were fed a diet that consisted of 25% sugar â€" and then the sugar is removed, the rats become anxious, their teeth start to chatter and they suffer with the shakes - not unlike people going through a nicotine or morphine withdrawal. The researchers also noticed long lasting changes in brain chemistry of rats fed with foods that had a combination of sweet, salt and fat in, which led them to conclude that there was a possibility that people too could see brain changes â€" and become physically addicted to eating fast food.

â…¤. No.9 Fattest Country in the World

No matter how Americans tip the scales, they are getter wider every year. One-third of Americans are obese and another third are overweight. The rate of childhood obesity is at 20% and the rate of adolescent obesity is at 18%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report found that about one-third of adults without a high school diploma is obese, compared with about one-fifth of those who graduated from college or technical college. The report projects that in 2030 in Mississippi, 66.8% of adults will be obese, as will 44.7% in Colorado, which will still be the thinnest state. More surprising are projections for states such as Delaware, now ranked 19 for obesity with a rate of 27.7%. Result shows that an obesity rate of 65.6% in Delaware in 2030, making it the third-most obese state. Between 1970 and 1994, individual American food intake increased by an average of 200 calories per person per day. No wonder the kilograms began to pile on.

5.1 The reason why people get fatter and fatter in America

Why Americans become fatter and fatter? We all know the short answer â€" too much fast food, and too little exercises are the key to obesity. Many people of America are too busy to make health meals at home. That’s why they option for fast food. But fast foods are harmful for the quality of our diets. Overmuch fast food meals have high content of saturated fats, low fiber contented and always oversize provided â€"all of which lead to obesity. For saving time, many of people have a fast-paced existence. Unfortunately, eating fast leads to eating too much before the brain aware of we are full already. Because the brain requires about 15 to 20 minutes to send signal the feelings of fullness. And less exercise also make you fat. Experts estimated that because of lack of exercise, there will be 3 million people died from heart disease, diabetes etc..

5.1.1 More calories intake

Many people know that junk-food such as French fries, hamburger, sodas etc. is always destructive to the health. But when we face to the delicious food, we failed every time. For many people who need loss weight it’s a contradictory and merciless feeling about eat or not. Some fast-food industries are just use the point of week self-control to produce all kinds of food to test your limit. In 2010, KFC launched Double Down which uses two pieces fried chicken instead of the original two breads, adds bacon and cheese as usual. This 450 calories hamburger makes the greedy full of satisfaction. What is more, another tycoon of fast food------Burger King provides a kind of vanilla ice cream with caramel and bacon on it which called Bacon Sundae. An ice cream costs $2.59 including 510 calories which become the king in the junk-food world.

Why people get fat? Because our body is easy to get fat from high heat foods for the simple fact that fat has twice the calories of carbohydrates and proteins. Each gram of fat provides 9 calories of energy and different kinds of protein and even carbohydrates our body can store dietary fat as body fat with little or no energy. In addition to having more calories on average, fried foods almost always have excess empty calories added by the carbohydrate breading. Fried carbohydrates have almost are devoid of vitamins and minerals as they get zero nutritional value.

Controlling your meals out is one of the most difficult things to do. Try to avoid eating outside by yourself and prepare your meals at home. Since most people’s social life just revolves around friends’ parties, lunch meetings and family meals which refuse is often not the best way to deal with it. Choosing lower calorie foods and drinks, ordering smaller size and even not eating all of your meals are ways to help you not get fat from eating out too much.

5.1.2 Less calories output

Decreases in physical activity: increased time spent in sedentary things such as watching TV or using computers; advanced technology enables less caloric expenditure. Exercise is too often at the bottom of our to-do list. Because today’s Americans tend to live a more sedentary lifestyle like our parents and grandparents, lack of exercise is a primary reason people are too fat. The lazy lifestyle continues to be the one of primary reasons why people are fat and getting fatter. Of course being physically inactive alone will not cause you to get fat but most overweight people consume excess calories in addition to not exercising enough.

Most people know they are should exercise but really don’t know how much. Even a little exercise goes a long way to keeping the pounds off. If you can keep your caloric intake low and keep exercising for 30-50 minutes 3-4 times per week could be fantastic. It could maintain your current shape or even lose some fat and tone up.

In addition to burning calories, regular exercises improve the health of almost every body system and function. Even those who think they exercise regularly are still getting fat. This is due to a combination poor nutrition and probably exercising incorrectly. A large percentage of people who exercise regularly only participate in a single activity, ignoring other important aspects of physical exercise right which will ultimately lead to injury.

A survey report by world health report says that although sport in good for health, 70% of American doesn’t exercise regularly. This report is reports by National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Among 68 thousand of people, there is only 62% people has free time to do sport. In this report, a regular exercise means 5 times in a week, at least 30 minutes each time. Having a balanced exercise program which includes all 5 parts of physical fitness will go a long way to help you lose weight, stay in shape and not get fat.

The World Health Organization (WHO) decided to celebrate the 7th of April each year as World Health Day. It is celebrated to create awareness and highlight a priority of a specific health area for the WHO. This year WHO calls everyone in the world to do 30 minutes as theme as “sport is helpful”. Michael O. Leavitt the minister of United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says:” you don’t have to go to gym to sweat yourselves, just do it 5 times in a week, at least 30 minutes walking will make your health level up. ”

â…¥.Conclusion

According to Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation published by Institute of Medicine (IOM) two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese. Left unchecked, obesity’s effects on health care costs and our productivity could become a disaster for the America. Tremendously find that obesity-related disease and chronic diseases including such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type II diabetes, etc. These facts show that here now obesity is not just getting relative risks of two, three, or four but you're getting relative risk of a hundred, in this case, massively elevated risk. And an annual cost of $190.3 billion for treating obesity-related illness, which resulted in serious economic and social burden. Emphasize the urgent need to strengthen prevention efforts in the United States. The report recognizes that bad dietetic formation and habit is another key to obesity except unhealthy and lack of physical exercise. Let people have a chance to get the healthy food and drink especially low-income groups is a helpful way to solve this matter.

At present, the government implements multiple policies with food industry to help citizens get balanced diet and develop a healthy diet concept. More and more politicians take loosing-weight into policy field and confront with this public topic.

6.1 The impact of obesity on future

It cannot be denied that unhealthy dietetic habit and obesity-related disease adds the serious burden for the society. In the United States roughly 39.8 million die from health risks related to being overweight every year. In New York there are 5800 people die from obesity directly. Being fat is not a personal disaster. Instead, it is related to the whole society.

There are some Health Consequences as follows:

1) Premature death. An estimated 3 million deaths per year may be attributed to obesity. For the risk of death rising with the increasing weight. Even middling weight excess increases the risk of death, particularly among middle age. Individuals who are obese have a greater than 50% increased risk of premature death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight.

2) Heart disease. The incidence of heart disease is increased in persons who are overweight or obese. High blood pressure is twice as common in adults who are overweight than in those who are at a healthy weight. Obesity is associated with elevated triglycerides (blood fat) and decreased high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol

3) Diabetes. A weight increase of 10 to 19 pounds rises a person's risk of developing type II diabetes to twice than individuals who have not gained weight. Over 80% of people with diabetes are overweight.

4) Cancer. Overweight is associated with an increased risk for some types of cancer including endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Women gaining more than 18 pounds from age 16 to midlife double their risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, compared to women whose weight remains stable.

Obesity raises the risk of various diseases, like type II diabetes and endometrial cancer, meaning more sick people and higher medical costs in the future. A study published earlier in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that by 2030, 42% of US adults could be obese, adding $550 billion to healthcare costs over that period.

6.2 Methods to solve obesity problem

"In the end, as First Lady, this isn’t just a policy issue for me. This is a passion. This is my mission. I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition."--First Lady Michelle Obama

“Let's Move!” is an activity to finish childhood obesity in the United States. The activity was started by First Lady Michelle Obama on February 9, 2010which has the original stated goal of "solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight." The First Lady indicated the activity would encourage healthier food in schools and more physical activity for kids. “Let's Move!“ seeks to provide a healthy lifestyle through "a comprehensive, collaborative, and community-oriented initiative that addresses all of the various factors that lead to childhood obesity engaging every sector of society that impacts the health of children to provide schools, families and communities the simple tools they need to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy." This activity has 4 parts, including helping parents arrange their balance diet; providing more healthy food in vending machine and lunchtime menu in school; letting the healthy food more popular and cheaper; encouraging children do more exercises.

And the IOM estimated a plan to meet the following goals and accelerate progress: First, do physical exercises every day in every way. Second, market what importance for a healthy life. Third, take healthy food and water available everywhere. Fourthly, remind others to live a healthy life.

When your weight lost there are few benefits: Weight loss, as modest as 5 to 16% of total body weight in a person who is overweight, reduces the risk factors for many diseases such as particularly heart disease. Weight loss will leads to lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, and improved cholesterol levels. A person with a Body Mass Index (BMI) above the healthy weight range may benefit from weight loss, especially if he or she has other health risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle, and a personal or family history of heart disease will turn better.