Speech - Kono

Is there anybody in this nation who has not seen some sort of advertisement or article about the obesity crisis in America? I think it's safe to say that nobody, or very few people at the least, has escaped the eye-popping photos that feature muffin tops and beer bellies. You would think that Americans today have got the message that obesity is bad. You've got shows like "The Biggest Loser" running, FDA approving the new diet pill, annoying pop-up ads telling you how to lose the extra fat, and even a Volkswagen Super bowl commercial featuring an extremely obese dog losing weight. Can it be said that we’re not doing enough to publicize our weight problem? Yes. Why? Because we're growing larger than ever. How? Just look around you. The American lifestyle is the cause of it all and unless we decide to change it, the problem is just going to get bigger.

Let’s start with the most obvious place – the food corporations. We are the heart of McDonald’s, Arby’s, Wendy’s, Rally’s, Hardy’s, KFC, Chick-fil-a – I could go on forever. These fast food restaurants are made to save you time, energy, and, most importantly, money. What parent wouldn’t jump at the chance to grab a ready-made meal after a long and frustrating day at work? It’s practically why two-thirds of US adults are overweight, and half of that fraction is officially obese. It’s not just the fast food though. The grocery store is another place that ultimately leads to the obesity epidemic. Prices are higher for foods such as apples and lettuce than it is for a box of Oreos or a package of candy. People with lower income might not have the choice of buying fresh produce due to the prices set on them. The packaging and labeling are also key factors. Now there is no such thing as buying in small packs – you have to buy the whole bulk. Packages are also covered with signs that say “Low Fat” or “No High-Fructose Corn Syrup.” What they don’t see is that in place of that fat or corn syrup is a boat load of sugar. Food corporations make it so that people only see what they want to see and not what they need to see.

Americans today pretty much love their television. You can communicate with it across large distances, lose yourself in a story, and live a life you’ve dreamed of. Televisions are to blame for our current national crisis as well. Our minds are fascinated by the moving pictures at the dinner table, the popcorn scented movie theatres, on the potato chip covered couch in the living room, and in the school cafeteria. It has been proven that eating while watching television leads to obesity due to the fact that the brain is unaware of the amount of food consumed during the time you are distracted. While you are watching “Jersey Shore” or “American Idol” you could be consuming a whole bag of potato chips without knowing it. It’s not only a cause of obesity through distraction though. The messages that are promoted on it are also a cause. Food commercials are used to draw in the most vulnerable of us all – the children. Everything from the color of the commercial to the little jingle are methods to urge the children to beg their parents to buy a bag of M&M’s or go through a drive-through. The American television is another part of the equation that leads to obesity.

Perhaps the largest factor in the nation’s obesity crisis is the American government itself. Several attempts to create laws to make bike lanes and trails and to restrict the food corporations were denied by the government. One small town was denied the money needed in order to create trails so that workers could travel by bike instead of car and thus get the recommended amount of exercise. A former Secretary of Defense attempted to make Congress recognize the growing danger of obesity but was shut down. His following attempts were likewise ignored and many Congress members denied any knowledge of this epidemic. Our government is denying the fact that we are endangered.  

What do we need to do as a nation? Besides the usual preaching about exercise and eating less, we have to take into account the choices we make in life. Intake of calories and burning calories are not the only factors in this equation. We have to think about the food corporations, the television, and the government. Are you letting them make the decision about your health or are you? Think about what’s actually in that French fry you want to stuff in your mouth. Think about actually talking to your parents at the dinner table or hiding the remote in a place you will never remember. Think about taking on the government and make them do something that benefits the nation’s health. Think about changing yourself for the better and thus change the future of America as a whole.