#1: The Obesity Epidemic

After seeing the absolute explosion of overweight and obese people in the United States, there are several conclusions that can be drawn. Every single state, minus one, has at least 20 percent of their population categorized as obese. Obese is defined as having a body mass index of at least 30. Let that sink in. Just giving a rough estimate, close to one third of the United States is obese. And that’s not even touching on the overweight category.

One of the major causes of the obesity epidemic is a simple one. High fructose corn syrup is put into nearly every food item now. And it’s all because of the massive amount of corn that’s being grown in modern farms. So they sell the corn to companies who then process it and shove the syrup into food. So even in foods that aren’t supposed to be sugary, they can be high fructose corn syrup. One prime example is something like cocktail sauce. A single serving of cocktail sauce (2 fluid ounces) contains 16 grams of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup.

As a country, we need to make a push, particularly legislatively, to end these sorts of practices. High fructose corn syrup needs to be regulated in regards to its use in certain foods. And if it is used, it needs to be far more clearly labeled. It's not the catch all solution, but it's the first step towards healthier eating. Just make people aware of what is actually in the food they are eating. 

O     "Obesity Epidemic Trends." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Sept. 2008. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaAt8gfRF5A>.