by Joan Inong

Created on: May 01, 2009

As the war on terror and the war on drugs rage on, so too does the war on obesity. The number of overweight people has dramatically increased in the past two decades, and it's no wonder why. American culture is filled with contrary ideals; we want to look shapely and thin, yet at the same time we are constantly bombarded with images of fatty fast food.

But, what specifically makes Americans overweight? This question cannot be other than objective. A person becomes overweight when he or she eats too much food that is considered "unhealthy" and he or she does not exercise on a daily basis. But, it is too easy to forget that becoming overweight is also shaped by our environment. Humans are absorptive, which means that they are easily influenced by what surrounds them. If we apply this to people who are overweight, we can see that environment plays an important role in determining how people think of themselves.

Americans, simply put, have access to a lot of food. Food surrounds us everyday and sometimes every minute of the day, but we take it for granted. We know that we will have food at the next meal time. We have so much food, in fact, that there are some Americans who scavenge local garbage cans for our waste. They complain about American consumerism and our ability to create so much waste without even giving it a thought.

Yet, gaining weight does not simply imply that because there is a lot of food, people will become overweight. If this were true, then everybody would be overweight, and that is not the case. It is necessary to conclude, therefore, that people have the ability to make choices and this is where the blame lies. For, people have the choice to eat a double cheeseburger or not. They know that it is fatty; if they didn't, then they wouldn't be to blame.

However, we cannot conclude that it is entirely some people's fault that they are overweight. Sometimes, their genetics decide for them. Sometimes, their environment decides for them.

In exploring all these causes, we realize that the problem of being overweight in America is not entirely due to any one factor. It is a variety of factors that, when put together, place the American person at risk for being overweight or being obese. Blaming obesity on people is not at all moral or ethical. We cannot simply say, "It is your fault you are fat." For, if we put ourselves in their shoes, what explanation can we give? We must see ourselves as those who are overweight see themselves, and we soon realize that our situation is shaped by many influences, some in our control and some not.

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