Was it that deep-fried Twinkie? Or the 45 oz Coke? Or the… March 3, 2008

With ever-expanding waistlines, increasing rates of heart disease and Type II diabetes, and people of such mammoth proportions that they literally cannot heave themselves out of bed, America has finally begun to second guess their eating, and overall lifestyle, habits.  Whether of not they actually take corrective measures to reverse the bodily harm they are inflicting upon themselves is yet to be determined.  For now though, we can determine, or at least hypothesize, what exactly it is that is leading to the creation of plus-size sections in department stores and increasingly large airline seats. 

Numerous points can be argued about the causes of outstanding obesity in American society, all with the end effect that the general population is swelling at a constant, and to activists such as Meme Roth, alarming rates.  But this “overnight sensation” has actually been the result of years of super-sized meals, proccesed foods, substitution of video games for exercise, and overall careless self-maintence.  According to the explanation of causal argumentation, I believe that both the causes and effects are yet to be unquestionably defined, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s start with the notion that the result of our actions is that obesity is much more of a commonality today than fifty years agos. 

So what led to our bulging bellies?  “Thunder thighs?” “Cottage cheese legs?” “Cankles?”  As I hinted at previously, I believe a few basic habits are to blame for the majority of this dubbed “obesity epidemic”:

1) The rise of processed foods and the rate at which people consume them in such large quantities, i.e. the “super-size me” menu option

2) People who eat such vast amounts of food, and yet fail to exercise on a consistent basis

3) Gastronomically-sized proportions

4) The mindset that “just a little won’t do me harm,” when these consumers forget that every calorie adds up

Although these four reasons are exceedingly shallow and cannot begin to fully cover the complexity of such a monumental situation, they develop a general impression of what it is that is leading to heavier-set Americans.  These tendencies don’t always begin during adulthood either, when we possess complete control over our lifestyle habits.  Oh no, vending machines stocked with candy, chips, and soda, along with lunch lines offering grease-soaked tater-tots, corn dogs, and brownies are clogging the arteries and increasing the pants sizes of children all across the U.S.  It’s one thing to write off your child’s chubbiness as “baby fat,” soon to ebb away upon a healthy balance of exercise and a good diet, in contrast to a kid with enough rolls to put a bakery out of business.

Once Americans define the factors that are causing the rise in obesity that is “plaguing” our country, can they rewrite the effects they so detest as well…