As American we take things for granted. We have freedoms and rights. Most of us have a roof over our heads and refrigerators stocked with food. We have stores and fast food restaurants on every corner. If we need something, we can always go into town and buy it. We can have whatever we want, when we want it, even to the point of excess.
Obesity in America has become one of the biggest social issues in America. Statistics show that one-third of the adult population in the United States is obese. That’s 33.8% of the adult population. Approximately 17% of children from the ages 2-19 are obese. Accordingly, 12.5 million kids are growing up struggling with weight issues.
West Virginia is leading the country with 32.5% of the population being overweight, followed by Alabama with 32.2%.
However, programs have been created to bring awareness to the issue. For example, First Lady Michelle Obama has encouraged healthy eating by advertising on Disney Channel and appearing in public to give speeches about the country’s problem. She encourages kids to get out and play.
The country also attempts to aid starving people in other countries. Unfortunately, these countries do not often have the type of government programs like the United States, so transporting food is a problem. As we transport food to starving villages, gangs or rebel forces take the food for themselves, and the food never gets to the people.
It’s about time for America to pull it together. Americans are spending $42 billion a year on weight loss products, and the estimated cost of ending world hunger is $24 billion a year.
Yes, there are programs to encourage healthy eating and to attack the issue of world hunger, but not everybody is listening. Americans just turn a blind eye because they don’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from. If we pulled together and fought this as a nation, we could take care of one of the biggest problems that this planet.
We could eliminate two problems at the same time. Most people go to sleep every night with a full stomach, and they don’t pause to think about the cost attached to hunger. Instead of indulging ourselves, we need to be sharing, healing, and ending this global problem.