English Project

Prepared for : Le 11 december 2009
Prepared by : Laurence Peetremans and Violaine Brenez
Date : Le 6 december 2009
Theme : Obesity in USA

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Introduction

Why Americans are so fat? What do they do for that? It is an important question to raise today. With the economic crisis, a big Mac menu is cheaper than vegetables and fruits. The big companies take the lead on low prices. In a day-to-day life people don’t have time to sit down to have a meal. In spite of the government advices, people are more and more sedentary. Indeed, people become increasingly obese, including obese pregnant women who give birth to obese or unhealthy babies. So the question is; what does exactly the government to reduce the obesity rate in USA? Are the Americans entering in an auto destruction phase?

Academic Sources

[pic]A remark of the general surgeon at the American Enterprise institute obesity conference (Summary)

Helped and supported by President Bush and Secretary Thompson (pioneers in prevention), the General Surgeon has to focus on the problem of obesity. There were three priorities; prevention, public health preparedness and health care disparities. An evolution for example; the number of articles about obesity, how to prevent and avoid it, in newspapers, has been multiplied by 24 in three years only. With a cost of $117 billion in 2000, obesity is in United States the main cause of diseases and mortality. It has never taken an epidemic dimension. It provokes many diseases (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancers…) and deaths every day. The new generations are touched more and more. The society has its part of responsibility; we wait until people fall sick then states, thus citizens, spend full money to cure them. Moreover, overweight- or obese pregnant women face double risk to have babies with multiple birth defects. It will conduct to a unhealthy society defined by obesity and disease.
A lack of activity and a surcharge of