Obesity In The United States

Obesity is classified by the United States government as a disease and needs to be treated as so. Questions have been asked about obesity and its effects for the last few years as the obesity population had risen. The government has put few restrictions in place to help prevent obesity, even though it has been the third leading cause of death in America. Obesity can be caused by overeating and lack of exercise, but it has astounding after-effects. Due to obesity, Americans can acquire other diseases, unnecessary medical bills can cause the government to spend millions on treatments, and fast food companies advertise non nutritious foods that cause Americans to spend insane amounts of money. The government needs to take charge and deal with …show more content…
Other studies have shown that over 170 million Americans are overweight or obese (“Obesity and weight control). Obesity is categorized by the National Institutes of Health as a disease itself, medical problems caused by obesity are often life threatening (“obesity”). To be categorized as obese means you have a BMI (body mass index) over 23. Obesity is a huge problem in the United States, it is to the point that the government needs to get involved to set restrictions.

The United States Government needs to step in and take charge of the obesity epidemic. Being obese means having some sort of breathing issue, or sleep apnea or a cardiovascular issue. Bills add up, hospital visits aren’t cheap. This causes the government to have to pay for a hospital visit or stay the person has Obamacare or Medicaid. “Over 170 million Americans are either overweight or obese” (Obesity and weight control, Grolier), which would cause the government to spend millions on medical …show more content…
In 2008, the government made it a law for chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus (Abdukadirov). “Only 28% of the patrons said it influenced their choices” (Abdukadirov), however researchers did not see any difference in calories that were bought after the law. This only proves that obesity is in fact harder to treat than researchers thought. If only the government would “advocate a vigorous anti-obesity policy”, then the United States would see a change in the percentage of obese/overweight people (Diet and Obesity) . In 2013, the U.S Surgeon General reported 30,000 deaths attributed to obesity (“obesity”). The obesity epidemic has risen to the point that the U.S government has “redefined obesity as a disease worthy of treatment (The War On