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Kyle Durkin

English 102

Professor Padgett

5 Dec 2019

Human’s Unhealthy Epidemic

Our goal as a civilization is to advance and do processes faster and more efficient than

before. We will continually keep advancing and creating short cuts to do things better. We

advance technology through innovation but in regards to nutrition our society is taking short cuts

and regressing as opposed to advancing. Although food is created fasters, the nutritional value in

the foods being created are decreasing immensely. Instead of curating food that is healthy, the

majority of people would claim that fast food is eaten because it is convenient, and it is showing

in the world today. Every 1 in 3 people are either overweight or obese (Sifferlin). While it might

be easier for some people to put on weight, this is not a genetic issue. People are brought into

these world being ectomorphic, endomorphic or mesomorphic however an individual decides

what to put in their body and how to take care of themselves. Genetics and biochemical make up

determines what a person’s body does with the food they eat. However, genes don’t drive

through a fast food restaurant and eat fried, salty food; a person does. An individual decides

whether they are going to make the conscience choice and effort to eat healthy or live a lifestyle

that counter acts the genetic code influencing weight gain. Obesity and being overweight is a

byproduct of the strong environmental factors; proximity, parenting, food marketing, biological

makeup of food. These present influences in society that shapes people to practice poor eating

and unhealthy lifestyle habits from a young age on.

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Unhealthy tendencies and poor eating habits start at a young age and are stemmed to a

person’s parental upbringing. When you are born, the path to who you will become begins to be

paved. Gradually as an individual grows, their parents raise them while their environment shapes

their character simultaneously. People don’t just happen to become obese and overweight when

they are adults but instead it is a long process that happens over time that tends to start early on

in their childhood. People learn poor eating habits when they are young and retain these

mannerisms throughout their adult hood. This behavior is shown by, “kids who drink sugary

sodas and eat high-calorie, processed foods develop a taste for these products and continue

eating them as adults” (Harvard). Children are raised off of sugary and salty foods that induce

weight gain and is why, “over 23 million children and teenagers are either obese or overweight”

(Best 6). Children don’t know any better and are just reciprocating what their parents are

teaching them. Children are taught and learn how to behave according to how their parents raise

them. With this being said, a child cannot overcome their weight problem if they are not even

conceived by their parents that they are overweight and need help. According to a study lead by

Éadaoin M. Butler, children who are obese typically are not given any weight reduction help

from their parents. After the study of 3,245 obese children was concluded, the evidence showed

that only “1 in 4 Chinese children were perceived as overweight by their parents and received

treatment for their weight problem” (Butler 459). So because of the environment a child is raised

in, a parent may not help a child with their weight problems. While a person’s environment plays

is a huge role in influencing who they will become, how an individual is raised is a segment of

environmental conditioning. Children and adults typically are obese and inhibit unhealthy

lifestyle choices because of their parental upbringing and the present environment in their early

stages of life. People are the way they are for different reasons however on a majority of cases,
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individuals obesity is linked back to their childhood. Some parents don’t recognize that their

child is obese and in turn makes them oblivious the fact that they aren’t healthy. A parent’s

failure to advocate for their own child’s health causes then their own child to not advocate for

their health and wellbeing. The child will grow and develop to continue to practice poor lifestyle

choices while not understanding that they are doing so. A parent isn’t solely responsible to their

child’s obesity as some things are out of their control however, a parent failing to even perceive

their own child as being unhealthy is a consistent theme that is linked to a person’s obesity later

in life. Parents who monitor their child’s eating habits or restrict a child’s eating have the same

result according to H. Dele Davis. Both of these parenting styles are linked to eating disorders

and obesity later in life. Regardless of either, both practices, “disrupt a child’s ability to respond

to internal cues of hunger and satiety…. increasing the risk of a dysfunctional eating pattern”

(Davis 14). Even when a parent might intervene and attempt to help their child’s weight

problem, it can actually retroactively hurt their child. A parent might attempt to control what

their child eats and reward eating a healthy meal with a sugary reward. This actually is rewarding

a child with what a parent is attempting to throw out of their child’s diet. Clearly how a parent

chooses to raise their child essentially plays a pivotal role in their lifestyle. Regardless if a parent

decides to help or if a parent does attempt to help their child, either way could ultimately hurt the

child in the long run. Restricting a child’s diet imposing eating habits that are linked to obesity

later on in that child’s life in some cases. How a parent raises a child is a strong if not one of the

most important environmental influences that is linked to a person’s health/ obesity later in life.

Children do not have the intellect to look past commercials and propaganda on TV. The

food industry understands this and spends “15 billion dollars in 2014 marketing all food and

beverage restaurant marketing in 2014” (LoDolce) while “$1.8 billion in 2009 on marketing
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aimed specifically at children” (LoDolce). Children are extremely susceptible to marketing

tactics since they don’t know any better to look past the rhetoric however regardless of

someone’s age everyone is a victim. Children’s brains aren’t developed enough to see that the

advertisement is extremely untruthful but instead are put in a trance because of the bright colors

and cartoons. A child’s environment conditions them to want unhealthy foods. Regardless of

what is on the nutrition label, it could matter less to a child. They only want the sugary taste and

whichever box looks most appealing to them. Children are obviously easily lured in to wanting

unhealthy foods easier than adults are, but as shown by the statistic, marketing tactics target just

as much adults as they do children. Clearly food companies understand all of this and invest so

much into targeting children though marketing tactics. Everyone is a victim of food propaganda

because of the environment we live in today. Companies have the resources and access to

mainstream advertisement which masses view daily. The modern-day environment has

streamline junk food advertisement that uses a variety of persuasive tactics to influence viewers

to eat unhealthy and cause obesity.

The majority of food present in our society is fast, unhealthy food. Food that is curated

quickly to generate as much as a profit as possible by making it as cheaply as possible. These

products are genetically engineered to, “hook us and impair our taste buds in the process”

(Fuhrman 1). Because of the food present in our environment, we have become conditioned to

crave sugar and salt and thus want unhealthy foods. The repercussions are clearly physically

shown in people’s poor and unnaturally fat physique. Since people are hooked on these foods,

they aren’t comprehending that fast food is basically everything food is not supposed to be. “Fast

food is literally fast food” (Fuhrman 10) which is not at all how food is supposed to be prepared

or served. Fast food is all about convenience hence why it is called “fast food”. While it allows
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people to easily fit in meals into their busy schedule, they are jeopardizing their help for their

convenience. Food isn’t something that is engineered and injected with ingredients but instead is

something that is raised and takes time to prepare. Fast food is typically salty, fried and injected

with things are body can’t break down; additives and preservatives. Dr. Joe Fuhrman argues that

we are not only witnessing, but a part of a modern-day genocide. The foods we are consuming

are slowly killing us. Our bodies are continually taking punches and blows with each bite. The

preservatives and additives in foods today cannot be broken down by our bodies and thus we are

suffering because of it. The fuel people put in their body determines their output. Our bodies are

extremely adaptable, and this is represented by the ability for bodies to function with the poor

eating habits of an obese individual. Obese and people who are noticeable overweight are

physical examples of what fast food does to the human body. These individuals are grossly

unhealthy and overweight to the point where it is extremely impacting their day to day life. The

resources in an environment determine the organisms in an environment. The nourishment and

resources in human’s environment lack nutrition and hook people to become addicted to eating

unhealthy. Therefore, this is why such a large percentage of the world is considered obese. There

is an abundance of fast food in people’s environment which is linked to the high obesity rates in

the world today.

Sociocultural influences are a huge factor in an individual’s environmental conditioning

which is linked to a person’s obesity. These influences are a combination of both cultural and

societal influences that are present in a person’s life. In relation to obesity, Ben Agger writes in

Body Problems: Running and Living Long in a Fast Food Society that body problems such as

body dysmorphia and extreme weight gain are the byproducts of, “outcomes of the major shifts

and trends in social structure” (Agger 6). Both Amy Best and Agger examine sociocultural
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influencers that are linked to obesity. Best argues that eating is more of a cultural ritual than it is

a necessity to keep our bodies functioning. Eating has become something that is a social

experience as children go through the lunch line and decide what to eat dependent on what is on

the menu. Children are aware that the food is unhealthy since, “school food [is] usually described

as nasty” (Best 61). However, children eat it anyways not because they need to eat to function

but because it is a social outing with people. School has conditioned children to think eating is

not about obtaining nutrition vital to your body but instead of it as a social time. Culture has also

influenced our society as a whole to think of food as such. Any social holiday or gathering has a

large portion of the time and energy revolving around the food being served. Thanksgiving is all

about the people eating food and the turkey being cooked. Culture has influenced people to

consider eating as something that is done to connect with others socially as opposed to a

necessity and it is showing in the rate of obesity present today. Eating is now currently

considering an activity done for pleasure and social connection as opposed to fueling people’s

body. Today’s “environment encourages us to eat more and exercise less” (Harvard) through

culture and social norms. People consider eating as a hobby and for fun which is why people eat

the way they do and live the unhealthy lifestyles they have.

One of the biggest factors in determining someone’s environment is the location. The

location of a person and their surroundings is huge in shaping of that particular individual in all

senses not just from a health and wellness standpoint. Lauren Fiechtner and her staff underwent a

study to determine if living closer to supermarkets and further from faster food restaurants had

any relation to an individual’s BMI. She took data from roughly 50,000 pediatric patients and

found what food establishments were in their proximity to their residence. Lauren Fiechter

concluded after surveying many different patients that, “living closer to supermarkets and farther
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from fast food and full-service restaurants was associated with lower BMI score” (Fiechter).

Obviously, what is in proximity to someone’s residence influences their diet enormously as

backed by the study. An individual’s diet stems from the foods that are around them. So, the

body mass index was lower, and people were essentially healthier from a weight perspective

when their environment had a supermarket and less fast food options. When there were more fast

food options in the area, individuals had a higher BMI. This is clearly because fast food is being

eaten more when it is in closer proximity to an individual. This study backs up the claim that a

factor to deciding what to eat is based on convenience. Whether or not something is close in

proximity plays a huge role in determining what foods will be eaten. Not just eating, but since

what is put into someone’s body plays such a huge role in their overall health and wellness but

health is also a matter of convenience. The environment someone is predisposed to shows that

someone who has a high BMI lives in an environment where it is more convenient to be

unhealthy This is attributed to the fact that there are most likely many fast food options in

proximity and thus makes eating a quick drive through meal more of a feasible alternative to

driving further to go to the grocery store to create a healthier meal. Joel Fuhraman discusses how

he believes that even though we aren’t experiencing famine and people are not malnourished

because of a lack of food, it is quite the opposite. Joel professes that today we are living in a fast

food malnutrition which creates, “chronic inflammation and causes weight gain, but subtle

micronutrient deficiencies disproportionately target the brain” (Fuhrman 3). So, the physical

location of where someone is in relation to food clearly has a strong impact on what they eat but

more importantly their overall health. A person’s weight is a clear indication of the physical

environment they are predisposed to and the proximity of food venues around them.
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Genetics is argued in some cases to be the main contributor to an individual’s obesity. Dr.

Jeffery Sicat is a clinical professor for Obesity Medical Association. He and the others who are a

part of this organization describe obesity as a genetic problem as opposed to an environmental

issue. Sicat claims that recent studies have found that, “the presence of absence of genetic factors

protect us from or predispose us to obesity” (Sicat). The genes do not control what you put into

your body or how you choose to take care of yourself. Genes may make it easier for some to lose

weight and harder for others, but obesity is caused by the lifestyle choices someone makes which

are influenced by their environment. Obviously, people have genetics to either be mesomorphic,

endomorphic or ectomorphic however, they decide if they want to be obese or not based on the

lifestyle choices they make though the environmental conditioning they are predisposed to.

Internal cues such as biochemical or genetic makeup can make it predisposed to food addictions

however regardless of what is going on internally with someone, they decide how to address

their chemical imbalance or genetic inefficacy. Genetics determine what a person’s body does to

the food they consume. Obesity may come easier to others because of genetics however, it is

ultimately derived from lifestyle choices an individual decides to make.

Today’s day and age are more than ever influenced by innovations in technology and are

jeopardizing personal health for innovation. People spend a majority of their time looking at

screens and interacting with some sort of modern-day technology. Whether it be their cell phone,

laptop or tv they are interacting with technology to some extent. Keiko Wada underwent a study

to determine if there was a positive linkage between technology use and obesity. The conclusion

of the study was that television and cell phone use is, “a risk factor related to being overweight”

(Wada). While people are participating in watching TV, they are not doing anything but sitting

and viewing. There is no simulation, instead it is behavior that is inducing weight gain. While
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someone is watching TV they are typically eating some sort of food alongside with it. Eating

food and watching TV go hand in hand because when people watch TV, “people get a quick hit

of dopamine, the pleasure chemical” (Lawernce). The longer someone watches T.V. the longer

they spend mindlessly intaking calories and not exerting any exercise. While the combination

might release chemicals that might make someone feel good, their body physically will start to

break down. Technology literally influences people to become obese. While watching T.V.,

people grab their favorite snack and turn on a mindless flick, and dopamine is released. This is

an addictive behavior and becomes a lifestyle which influences, obesity extensively. People who

are obese practice a sedentary lifestyle and have a high caloric intake. Innovation in technology

has served to limit people in the amount of energy they have to exert for easier convenience to

where they are traveling. Instead of walking to places, cars exist and all other sorts of travel

services to limit the amount of energy exerted from the human. Looking in a health and wellness

perspective, technology today exists to make people exert less physically. This is a huge

influencer in our presented environment today. Today’s world is full of technology in every

context in order to make humans work less. This in turn makes our lives easier but makes it

harder on our bodies. Watching TV is a mindless behavior that takes people away from their

problems while they devour unnoticed calories. Transportation has been innovated so that

humans almost have to exert almost no energy going from place to place. Our environment is

shaping to make humans become extremely sedentary. Technology makes people move less like,

“kids who watch television and play video games may be programming themselves for a

sedentary future” (Harvard). Technology is a direct influence to excess weight gain and obesity.

This is all present in our environment today. Through the need for innovation, technology has

made it possible for humans to burn nothing while consuming anything and everything.
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Obesity is a complicated issue that is derived from environmental conditioning from

numerous different reasons and sources. Starting at birth, a child’s upbringing can both lead to

obesity regardless if they decided to help or not. Parents need to be extremely cautious and

deliberate in how they raise their child because excessive weight gain can be attributed to many

different parenting styles. Today’s children are fatter than ever and are more indulged in

technology more than ever. Companies pay large amounts of money to invest in food

advertisement direct towards children. Living an unhealthily lifestyle and making poor eating

choices can be attributed to the sociocultural influences presented in the world today. Eating is a

social ritual and people often don’t realize what they’re putting in their bodies. Proximity

determines what is accessible and ultimately what food is eaten because of convenience. Where

individuals live influences what type of food they eat but more importantly if they are living an

obese free lifestyle. Technology affects the obesity rates in the world in a variety of different

ways. The innovations in TV have made it social norm to eat and watch TV because dopamine is

released when doing so; people become addicted to the combination of eating while watching

TV. While advances in transportation have made it faster to go places, people don’t have to exert

any energy. All of these factors are all part of the environmental conditioning linked to obesity

that people undergo throughout the span of their life. Obesity might come easier to some than

others due to genetics, but people are influenced by their very own unique environment in

today’s world to live an obese lifestyle or not. Obesity is attributed to unhealthy habits and

sedentary lifestyle’s however people are influenced by the environment in which they live in.

Strong environmental influences condition people to practice poor lifestyle habits linked to

obesity starting from the time they are brought into this world and then on throughout the rest of

their life.
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Works Cited

Agger, Ben. Body Problems: Running and Living Long in a Fast-Food Society. Routledge, 2011.Best,

Amy L. Fast-Food Kids: French Fries, Lunch Lines and Social Ties. New York University Press,

2017.

Butler, É. M., Suhag, A., Hong, Y., Liang, L., Gong, C., Xiong, F., … Derraik, J. G. (2019). Parental

Perceptions of Obesity in School Children and Subsequent Action. Childhood Obesity, 15(7),

459–467. doi: 10.1089/chi.2018.0338

Davies, H. Dele, et al. Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence. Praeger, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO,

LLC, 2019.

Fiechtner, Lauren, et al. “Food Environments and Childhood Weight Status: Effects of Neighborhood

Median Income.” Childhood Obesity, vol. 11, no. 3, 2015, pp. 260–268. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

Publishers, doi:10.1089/chi.2014.0139.

Fuhrman, Joel, and Robert B. Phillips. Fast Food Genocide: How Processed Food Is Killing Us and

What We Can Do about It. HarperOne, 2018.

Harvard Health Publishing. “Why People Become Overweight.” Harvard Health, 24 June 2019,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-people-become-overweight.

Laurence, Emily. “Why Snacking in Front of the TV Just Feels so Good, According to Experts.” Well

Good, 24 Oct. 2019, https://www.wellandgood.com/good-food/eating-watching-tv/.

LoDolce, Megan. “Food Marketing to Children: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?” Obesity Action Coalition,

2015, https://www.obesityaction.org/community/article-library/food-marketing-to-children-a-

wolf-in-sheeps-clothing

Sicat, Jeffery. “Obesity and Genetics.” Obesity Medicine Association, Obesity Medicine Association, 12

July 2019, https://obesitymedicine.org/obesity-and-genetics/.

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Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Obesity: 30% of People In the World Are Obese or Overweight.” Time, Time, 12

June 2017, https://time.com/4813075/obesity-overweight-weight-loss/.

Valois, Darcie D., et al. “Extracurricular Activity Involvement and Body Image in Youth with Obesity:

The Mediating Role of Social Life.” Childhood Obesity, vol. 15, no. 7, Jan. 2019, pp. 426–

433. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc Publishers, doi:10.1089/chi.2019.0050.

Wada, Keiko, et al. “Associations of Cell Phone Use and Screen Viewing with Overweight in

Children.” Childhood Obesity, vol. 15, no. 7, Jan. 2019, pp. 417–425. Mary Anne Liebert, Inc

Publishers, doi:10.1089/chi.2018.0312.