#17 Speech- Haley Longworth

In America, as time passes and food gets more artificial, people wonder why there is suddenly an array of diseases appearing before them. In the beginning of time humans ate a plant-based diet of fruits and vegetables as well as natural, untouched animal products. Those humans suffered from many less diseases and diet-related problems than modern times because of their natural lifestyle. Nowadays, people in the United States tend to eat a Standard American Diet which consists of processed sugars and carbohydrates which are stripped of their nutrition, as well as animal products which are loaded with hormones and chemicals. This detrimental change to the diet and lifestyle of Americans has been a factor that has led to an obesity epidemic that needs to be stopped, and the only way to do this is to change the way food is handled in the United States. Obesity has become a major issue in our country, and has many more negative effects that branch off from it. To be able to reverse the effects of the obesity epidemic, we must understand the causes of obesity and how to change them.

There are multiple factors that influence whether a person is obese or not, the most prominent being diet and lifestyle. This is because how you look on the outside is largely influenced by your health on the inside. A problem many Americans encounter when trying to improve their health is the existence of thousands of chemicals engineered by scientists that are meant to seem fulfilling to us, but are not fulfilling in the least. Aspartame is one of these chemicals that can be found in gum, low calorie yogurt, and most notably diet sodas. The combination of aspartame and caffeine in these drinks kills brain cells, that before they die, give you a sort of excitement or buzz. The effects of drinking diet sodas can be headaches, visual problems, and in severe cases seizures. These are severe enough effects to where pilots are not allowed to consume these diet beverages. Another example of chemicals in our food is MSG, which excites the brain, and in turn leads the body to activate fat programs and causes a person to gain body fat. This is the same chemical used to make mice obese for use in various types of studies, proving its success in causing consumers to gain fat. The worst part is that MSG and free glutamates are used to enhance flavor in 80 percent of processed foods, and can be hidden in over fifty names (Raymond Francis M.Sc.MIT). Kris Carr, a women who overcame cancer by changing to a plant-based diet said it best when she said, “If it takes a lab to make, it takes a lab to digest.” This validates that the chemicals we are seeing in our food are not meant for us to eat, and therefore have adverse side effects, such as obesity, when eaten. They need to be eliminated from our diets and kept out of our grocery stores.

Although there are many people attempting to improve what they’re eating, many approach the issue by trying conventional diets, which almost never work. A lot of these diets cut out one food group temporarily which is why there is so much labeling on food packing stating that the product is “fat free” or “low carb.” These are empty claims because when a food is fat free, it almost always has added sugar to make up for the loss of flavor. This approach at losing weight is unsuccessful and costly. In the Unites States, Americans will spend over sixty million dollars on diet products yearly, and two-thirds of people who go on diets will gain more weight than they lost, therefore becoming more obese than they already were. Overall, the food many Americans eat is tainted with chemicals and hormones that are addicting, and the manufacturers’ solution to the problem is offering ineffective diets. These two factors have led to a naïve society that doesn’t know how to fight the obesity epidemic at hand. 

To be able to combat the growing epidemic, Americans must take a stand for their health. Something many people do not know is that the manufacturers of the food products causing obesity in our country are also the ones funding the food studies that are being submitted to regulatory agencies. There is no neutral third party conducting the studies, which is why so many dangerous and even carcinogenic chemicals are allowed to be put into the foods we are eating on a daily basis.  Manufacturing companies for these food products keep producing them because they know people will buy their products as long as they are addicting and can keep the consumers coming back for more. Sugar is one of the most addictive substances on earth, and is even said to be the cocaine of the food world. It is refined and the nutrients are stripped away from the used-to-be-natural sugar cane plant, just like cocaine is, but from the coca leaf. There is no way these refined, empty calorie foods can be good for us, yet people eat them anyway because they are addicted. In Georgia, there are various obesity campaigns that include pictures of children with phrases such as “It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not.” These ads are meant to influence Georgia citizens to take action and steer clear of obesity, specifically in their children, since Georgia has one of the highest child obesity rates in the country. The best way Americans can start to change is by learning the risks of eating a man-made diet and starting to up their intake of fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean proteins until they are completely free of processed and chemical-filled foods. Until Americans learn to change the food system and the way we eat, we will always be at risk of the growing obesity epidemic.

In conclusion, the epidemic in the United States has come to an all time high with sixty-eight percent of adults in America being obese. Something needs to be done to stop this, so I ask you to take action by paying more attention to the foods you are putting into your body. When Americans are able to reduce the obesity rates and improve health nation wide by learning causes of obesity and how to change them, the well-being of many will improve, the number of chronic illnesses will go down, and the environment around us will improve due to lower amounts of pollution from the large factories making stuff that can no longer be considered food, but instead food-like products. It is the time for change, and with the obesity rates as high as they are, there should be no looking back.