Question

The American diet isn't as healthy as it could be. As it has become easier to obtain and prepare food, the amount of food we eat has increased. American adults eat more calories than they did 50 years ago primarily due to larger portion sizes, especially from fast foods, and an increase in the frequency of snacking and calories consumed from those snacks. As a result, over two-thirds of American adults weigh more than they should.

Think About This:
Americans are replacing more and more home cooked meals with meals from fast food restaurants. What is the cost of this convenience?

In Your Topic Post: In your own words;

• Why do you think Americans today rely more on prepackaged and restaurant meals than our grandparents did?
• Share what you see as the nutritional impacts of this trend?
• Share 1-2 obstacles you face when it comes to healthy food choices.

Answer 1

The change in american eating habits and its affect on health

The present day America is consuming more than 500 calories per day and less time spent on physical activity than our grandparents from previous generation did. the major reason can be owed to our fast paced life where in time equals work and we give work more priority than our health it doesnt matter what the quality of our food is..all that matters is the quantity and there is no time to cook a decent meal and clean up afterwards which leads to heavy reliability on pre-packed meals and takeouts and a wide shift in our food culture. The results ? well, this disastrous trend has lead to a rise and emergence of "lifestyle diseases" such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, nutritional imbalances and the subsequent complications .

Diabetes is a condition affecting our body when either it cannot produce sufficient quantities of the hormone insulin which helps in absorption of glucose into the tissues of our body from the bloodstream or it cannot utilze the insulin already produced in the body for glucose absorption so that it can be burned to release energy .

According to the center for disease control(CDC) report as per 2016, 29 million americans suffer from diabetes, that is about 1 in 11 people!. About 86 million, that is 1 in 3 americans older than 20 years have a condition called 'pre-diabetes' where in the blood sugar levels are high compared to normal but not reached the level to be called as full fledged diabetes.  

The most disturbing fact about diabetes is that once it has developed there is no going back or in other words its a chronic disease with many long term complications affecting other organs of our body like the heart, the blood vessels, the nerves, the kidneys and it is also a major reason for causing blindness. It can also lead to stroke and untimely death especially in people above 65 years of age.

Apart from these, relying on fast food and junk as options leads to vitamin deficiencies which are essential for the body to perform normal functions on a daily basis.They are needed for good eyesight, balanced metabolism, stronger bones and improved stamina. These can be obtained by consuming raw fruits and vegetables as well as from fortified milk or cereals.

Some of the problems faced when it comes to healthy food choices are :

Easy availability of High calorie and sugar dipped food available at cheaper prices than fresh fruits and vegetables around every corner and the availability of more flavor packed foods with improved taste compared to the not so tasty traditional raw food choices of fruits and vegetables.