Michelle Obama

With all the hype about her Oscar's presentation I thought I would talk about the first ladies initiative to reform the nations eating habits.  This article speaks about the success of her movement "Let's move!"  Although the second half of the article is more about the first lady's presidential life, the first illustrates something new.  According to the article there has been a drop in obesity.    It seems like maybe a new society change is happening in America, one in which moving and eating better are becoming "in."
My favorite quote from the article is "If we could fry water in Mississippi, we would, we would do that," Roberts, who grew up in Pass Christian, Mississippi, said. "Food is a culture."  Although I agree that food is culture (think Italy: spaghetti and pizza, Ireland: potato, and France: croissants), I don't  think that this is an excuse to "fry water."

CDC Obesity Epidemic

              This CDC video explains how the obesity epidemic has expanded and what it can lead to.  Obesity has grown for a majority of  external reasons.  Our environment has changed so much in the past few years, we have much more access to food when ever we want it, and less walking or biking to get there.  Almost everyone has a car and if they don't they have ready access to a bus or rail line.  It is usually to unsafe to play outside and it is easier to sit in front of a computer screen.  Our society has changed and that has led to the rise of this.  Our foods are more caloric and fast food, both cheap and fast, is horrible for you.  
               What is most striking is that there is no real answer to the epidemic   It is not something that we can get a vaccine for and Congress cannot pass a bill to prevent it.  Each person has to do it themselves.  We can try to help by lowering the price of good food and restricting the size of soft drinks (thanks Bloomberg)  but there is no real answer without public help.

Portion Distortion

According to this article, out portions have grown substantially in the past few years. This has led to a huge obesity problem.  120 million Americans are overweight or obese!  Due to portion distortion, we could be putting on an extra 10 pounds a year by simply eating all the food on out plate 3 meals a day.  Another problem is that we eat all of it.  People don't bring extra food home, they try to eat it all.  I do this a lot.  I don't want to have to lug the food home, and it is never as good re-heated.  According to the article there are many ways to manage your plate.  I think that the best ones are "slow down" and "share a meal".  Slow down is probably my favorite.  How many times have you finished eating and realized your stuffed, way beyond the necessary limits. If you eat slower you can avoid this feeling.  The other good idea is share a meal.  You can get a couple of appetizers and share a meal.  Then you will also have extra room for dessert also.

Then and Now

I think that this image is very telling about Obesity in the United States.  Its really interesting how 
the two actors, portraying the same character, can be so different.  In the  book, Augustus 
Gloop is described as a fat kid that loves filling his face with sweets. In just 34 years the idea of
the  most obese kid they could find changed so drastically.  The  norm has  changed just as 
much.  If we were to see the 1971 Augustus today, we may just think of him as  a built athlete, in 
that time he was the over indulgent "fat kid". 

This chart is also startling.  in 1991, no state had more than 20-24 percent obesity.  Only 4 states had 15-19 percent obesity. No we have nothing under 15-19 percent obesity.  In just 12 years our country has multiplied its rates.  This cannot just be the times.  Things have changed over the years that have set this into effect.  how can our society have changed so drastically in 12 years?

Why obesity?

I choose Obesity in the United States for my blog because it seems to be a growing issue.  My parents have always talked about how they grew up seeing fewer cases of obesity then they do mow.  I am interested in what has happened that spurred this growth.  I also think that this will also allow me to look into other projects / studies to see what may have changed (examples:  growth of technology / portion distortion / instant gratification).