Why is there an obesity epidemic?

78 million adults and 13 million children are obese in the United States. Obesity creates health risks such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Obesity stems from two major problems: calorie intake and lack of exercise. There are hidden causes that are less apparent to the public. Some of these causes include mindless eating, packaging, advertising, ingredients and convenience. 

Students should look up and research one of the five causes of obesity. Students should include solutions, heath risks, and reasoning for the epidemic and how it relates to the subtopics. 

Students should use these sources to help guide them in their research. These links provided below will help students find facts, examples and any extra information.

1. Mindless Eating: Students should look to see what causing people to mindless eat and what draws their attention away when they are eating.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian_Wansink/publication/44600055_From_Mindless_Eating_to_Mindlessly_Eating_Better/links/551e75cd0cf29dcabb03cd44.pdf

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/why_mindless_eating_can_pack_on_pounds_#1

2. Packaging: Students should look for how packaging effects the ingredients in products causing signs of obesity.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/science-policymaking/news/study-food-packaging-can-contribute-to-obesity/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/12/bpa-obesity-puberty-girls/2413101/

3. Advertising: Students should examine why visuals like food ads influence eating behavior, which contribute to weight gain.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/29/462838153/food-ads-make-us-eat-more-and-should-be-regulated 

http://www.medicaldaily.com/do-tv-ads-contribute-childhood-obesity-98-commercials-feature-unhealthy-foods-265345 

4. Ingredients: Students should indicate what specific ingredients lead to obesity and which ingredients individuals should avoid to prevent obesity.

http://sveltemd.com/5-deadly-ingredients-that-lead-to-obesity/

5. Convenience: Students should look for why eating healthy can be an inconvenience to individuals and why people become lazy with meal preparation.

http://advances.nutrition.org/content/5/6/809.full

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2007.00339.x/full

Students will form a presentation on the topic they choose under the category of obesity and present it to the class. Students who chose the same cause of obesity will work in groups to discuss their research. The teacher will then evaluate each presentation to see if students understood the topic of obesity and got the concept of how to help lower the risks of obesity.

The teacher and students will have a general class discussion to summarize everything that was discussed on the topic of obesity, students will reflect on the process of the assignment and discuss what they leaned and how they will use this information for the future.