Group Effort

Welcome to our blog! We are students in English 114B attending Cal State University, Northridge. For about a month, we have researched and shared information regarding Obesity within the United States. 

We believe that obesity in the US, will increase if Americans continue to process fast food, lack of exercise and continue to eat big portions...We will share our personal experience as well as research regarding the link of the fast food industry and obesity, how to live a healthier life, food portions, and why obesity is increasing in the United States.






A little bit about ourselves...







-Hi! My name is Honglin Qu and I am a Sophomore at California State University, Northridge! I am originally from China and came here to study Finance. I enjoy the United States and have a strong passion on the issue of obesity. I hope that readers can know how serious the situation is now about obesity in the US and we can solve this problem by ourselves. The most intersting thing I found in this project is not only doing research on obesity, but also discussing with my group and sharing our ideas. I realize that exercise and gym are reallly important in our life by this project. Obesity has already become more and more serious. We can't just sit watching and do nothing. Obviously, obesity will cause a series of healthy problem, like high blood pressure. For the readers, I want to say fast food and junk food must to reduce! More exercise will make you more health. Once your eating habits become disciplinary, you will far away from obesity!!!



-Hello, my name is Melisa C. Celensu and I am a Freshmen at CSUN majoring in Communications. I am originally from Turkey and have been living in Los Angeles for two years. Since I came to USA, I started to ask myself why obesity in the US is a big problem. After researching this subject with our group, we found interesting points that show the reasons of the obesity in America. We realized that fast food restaurants where you can find them everywhere around the US, lack of exercise since a lot of people are trying to escape from it and big portion sizes in USA are the main causes of obesity. I strongly believe that portions sizes of everything have grown considerably. I learned that it is a serious problem and it can also affect one's phsical health. I recommend to everyone to do some daily exercise even for 30 minutes and take to go box when they feel full because people usually eat what they see on their plate. Additionally reducing fast food is going to help as well. As I started to apply these to my personal life, I started to feel better and healthier...




-Hi! My name is Shahla Jalil-Valles and I am a Sophomore at CSUN although this is only my first year. My major is Microbiology and I am also a Pre-med student. I have a strong interest in Obesity in the U.S and hope to share my opinions. I hope readers will gain a better understanding of the real meaning and issues surrounding obesity. After doing this project, I myself learned many aspects regarding the epidemic of obesity facing the U.S including how to decrease it, as well and alternatives to a healthier life style. I want to be able to share these new findings as well as integrade them in my own life. I have learned ways to stay healthy and at the same time was able to pass on knowledge through this blog. For the readers of this blog, I recommend eating healthy, watching portions sizes, stay away from fast foods and excersie daily!






-Hello, my name is Jie Ruan and I am a Sophomore at CSUN. My major is finance and I came from China to study abroad. This is my first time to do a blog. And doing blog is very interesting. It's very different from writing a essay.And this project is team work. We  jointly participate in discussion and brainstorming. So, in here i wanna thanks to my teammates,especially Shahla, she is a great leader. In my Blog, I hope readers can know obesity has already been a big problem in the USA and how to stay away from obesity. After doing blog, I learn many aspect about obesity, Such as how to reduce it and why the obesity will increase every year in the USA. In here, I have some recommendations for readers. First, eating less fast food. Second, doing more exercise.I believe that making your daily health, your will far away from obesity.


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Introduction/Background


During the past 20 years, there has been a


 dramatic increase in obesity in the United


  States and rates remain high. This is a very


 sad and unfortuante fact we are dealing with


 today. But why are we in such a bad state of


 obesity? To really understand why, we must


 know the facts, "the foods we eat every day


 contribute to our well-being. Foods provide


 us with the nutrients we need for healthy


 bodies and the calories we need for energy.


 If we take in more calories than we burn, the


 extra food turns to fat and is stored in our


 bodies. If we overeat regularly, we gain 


weight, and if we continue to gain weight, we


 may become obese." (E-Medicine Health 2)


 After doing research, we found that the 


obesity epidemic in America will soon lead to 


horrific circumstances if we don't do 
something fast. 
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Questions Surrounding the Issue and Answers




-What is Obesity?


"Obesity is a condition in which a person has an abnormally high and unhealthy proportion of body fat. (National Cancer Institute 3)


-How common is overweight and obesity in the U.S?


Results from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show that 68 percent of U.S. adults age 20 years and older are overweight or obese (3).




-What city in the United States has the highest obesity rate?


Houston, Texas


-I know that obesity means being overweight, but what health risks come with this?


Being overweight can cause very serious heath risks to your body, here we have inserted a picture for you to have a better understanding of just some of the risks a person can face from obesity. 




-How has the U.S been effected by obesity in the past years?


Here we has inserted an animated picture to show you.
But what exactly does this graph depict? It shows how obesity rates have increased for all population groups in the United States over the last several decades.[12] Between 1986 and 2000, the prevalence of severe obesity quadrupled from one in two hundred Americans to one in fifty. 






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Final Thoughts and Conclusions 




Obesity is a horrible epidemic we are facing in the United States today and for many years. There are many facts and statstics, as well as options for solutions to this vast and serious problem. In following posts, each of us will analyze a main idea in regards to obesity and the effects it puts on Americans living in the U.S. 



Shahla Jalil-Valles



Do Fast Food
 Restaurants Contribute
to obesity?





Why do we prefer fast foods?
What kinds of neighborhoods are more prevalent to fast foods?
Are there any alternatives?
In this short documentary below, they explain the answers to these frequently asked questions! Obesity is rising due to how accessible fast food industry's are, fortunately there are new implements of healthy fast foods, take a looks!
Click here to watch the video!




Significant Quotes

  • "Fast food obesity is a problem because fast food meal contains low quality carbohydrates; high levels of saturated fat, white bread, and a sugary soda and also has relatively low fiber content. This kind of eating pattern is entirely gives negative effect, which resulted cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the United States.(Fast Food Obesity)" 

*I believe that this is a very intriguing and significant quote relating to fast food and the epidemic of obesity in the U.S because it has facts stating that the nutritional values of fast food chains are virtually non existant. 


  • The average distance from a fast food restaurant in the US to a school is half a mile. The density of fast food restaurants within 1 mile of a school is three to four times the average distribution throughout a city (Calorie Lab 2).
*I believe that this is a significant quote because it shows why Americans are so accustomed to fast food restaurants, if something is so convenient, why not?


  •  Over the last 35 years sales in the US fast-food industry has grown by almost 1000%. In 1975 sales equalled $16.1 billion and in 2009 sales were about $160 billion (Calorie Lab 2).


  •  Half of the average Americans yearly food budget is spent at fast-food chains (Calorie Lab 2).
* These two quotes signify how fast our lives are spreading into the marketing of the fast food industry. We are constantly growing, promoting obesity every step of the way





Visual Aids

The graph below depicts the effects that the fast food industry are putting on Americans, causing extreme weight gain leading to obesity.

-The first 'global obesity' graph shows that on average, people who ate fast food more than twice a week, gained approximately 10 more pounds that people who kept their intake to a once per week minimum.

-The bottom graphs shows how much fast food Americans really eat and how that number has gained since the late 1970's.


















Fast Food - Obesity and Fast Food

Though quite humorous, this cartoon  shows how accustomed Americans are to the fast food industry, that a child cannot even recall healthy foods.

Cartoonaday.com


Honglin Qu

Obesity Rates Increase in the Few Years

Main Arguments
     In the few years, obesity rates increase in fast speed which is difficult to imagine. If you ask me, I will say that it is a very serious and terrible problem in the society. There are some datas I want to show you and it adequately shows how serious the situation of obesity in the America now.

· 66% of U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2003-2004.
· Women 20–34 years old had the fastest increase rate of obesity and overweight.
· 80% of black women aged 40 years or over are overweight; 50% are obese.
· States in the southeast have higher prevalence than states on the West Coast, the Midwest and the Northeast.
· 16% of children and adolescents are overweight and 34% are at risk of becoming overweight in 2003-2004.
Visual Arguments

    
      According to this picture, it is not difficult to see that obesity has already been a problem among children and adolescents. The rate of obesity increase in an amazing speed during 1980-2000.
      The study suggests that the obesity rate for men which is currently 32%would rise to 50% in 2030. Foe women, the increase would be from 35% to any where between 45% and 52%. That's a total of 164 million people. Not only will we be getting fatter, but health problems like type - 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease will become more prevalent as weight related illnesses.

Significant Quotes

      “Our analysis showed patterns of obesity or overweight for various groups of Americans. All groups consistently increased in obesity or overweight prevalence, but the increase varied by group, making this public health issue complex. More research needs to be completed to look into the underlying causes."   
     Obesity is a complicated and difficult problem. It can not be fixed by government and others. We need to change the situation by ourselves. Keeping a balance diet is very important and necessary.

Melisa Ceren Celensu








                                 
                                                          What You See Is What You Eat



Over the past few decades, portion sizes of everything from muffins to sandwiches have grown considerably. While increased sizes haven’t been the sole contributor to our obesity epidemic, large quantities of cheap food have distorted our perceptions of what a typical meal is supposed to look like.





The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) give a visual representation of what sizes used to be compared to what they are today.





If you are interested to take the quiz to see how food portions have changed in 20 years click here;














Significant Quotes


Here is an example of Anna-Leena Rasanen who had arrived in the U. S from Finland only eight days earlies, but she was getting the picture...


"The day we came, we went to a restaurant. First was a huge salad. Then chicken with spinach and pasta. That was huge. I didn't imagine a portion could be so big. Even my boyfriend [who's 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 230 pounds] said that he couldn't have eaten the whole portion." 


“Unfortunately, America’s waistbands have reacted accordingly. In the 1970s, around 47 percent of Americans were overweight or obese; now 66 percent of us are. In addition, the number of just obese people has doubled, from 15 percent of our population to 30 percent.” ( Monte, 2011).

“American food companies have changed their servings drastically over the last 50 years.  In addition to bigger portions, studies are showing a tendency to overuse items coming from large containers when cooking.” (Danielle, 2012).











Let's see some examples of portion differences of 20 years ago and today.





Two slice of Pizza






Those extra 350 calories, if eaten a two times a month, would put 

on two extra pounds a year, or forty pounds in the next two

decades.






Movie Popcorn



Bagel




Today’s bagel counts for three servings of bread, but many of us 


would consider it one serving.
Cheeseburgers


According to a 2007 paper published in the Journal of Public 


Health Policy, portion sizes offered by fast food chains are two to 


five times larger than when first introduced.