Today in the United States, obesity is an ongoing problem. Not only is this “epidemic” deadly to adults, but a leading cause of health issues for children as well. Some of these health issues include diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease, which all can be fatal. Though obesity has been around for decades, the rate of obesity in America has increased dramatically. From 1962 to 2000, the percentage of obese Americans grew from 13% to 30%, and the rate of child obesity had nearly tripled in the past twenty years. Though genetics is apart of this growing “disease”, there are other reasons for the growth of obesity, such as fast food restaurants, and new technologies that are making the American population both lazy and fat.

Everywhere you turn, there is a McDonald’s or another fast food chain. No wonder more people in America are becoming obese. In the documentary Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock exclaimed “I'm also fortunate in my McDonald's diet because I'll be close to a food source almost everywhere I go. I walk past three McDonald's restaurants just on my way to the office: three in just over a mile.” There truly is a fast food restaurant everywhere you go, making Americans more reliant on them. It seems that everyone is so busy these days with work and other activities that it’s just easier for people to grab a bite at McDonalds instead of putting a lot of time and effort into a healthier meal. It’s not entirely the persons fault for making the choice to go to a fast food restaurant; these food chains don’t even have the decency to put a healthy item on the menu. Even a salad can have up to 370 calories. This is why fast food is a leading cause of obesity in America.

Another leading reason of obesity in America is that people are just getting so lazy and are living sedentary lives. Back in the early nineteen hundreds, most people had to work painstakingly hard at their jobs. Now a days, new technology allows people to stand around or sit in a chair all day while a machine or a computer does all of the work for them. With these new forms of technology, people are becoming more sedate and lazier, increasing the chance of obesity. In 2008 you can clap to turn a light on instead of walking five steps to turn the switch on yourself. You can also drive a lawnmower instead of pushing it around the yard for only a short while. The average Americans are so lazy that they won’t give up one hour each day for physical activity to ensure a better life, and less of a chance to become obese.

Though part of being an American is to go to McDonalds once in a while, soon enough, part of being an American will be to be obese as well. 31% of Americans are obese, and 63% are overweight, but if the lifestyle of people in the U.S. doesn’t change, soon the entire population is going to be obese or overweight. Obesity can cause severe health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer, which can lead to death. This “epidemic” is rapidly consuming the population, killing nearly 300,000 people a year; but these statistics can be turned around. If we all eat less fast food, and if we become more active, we can help put a stop to all these deaths, and put and end to obesity.