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Michael Wooster
Professor Elizabeth
English 201-001
8 April, 2012
Word Count: 497
A heavier plant
The first step in solving a problem is finding out what is causing it in the first place.
There are a lot of causes that lead to obesity and some of them we can change and others we
cannot.
There are a lot of reasons that could cause someone to gain weight and become obese.
“The main reason in just a simple math problem, you eat more calories than you burn off in a
day. If you eat just one hundred more calories every day than what you normally do, which is a
glass of apple juice, you will gain ten pounds in a year. Most of the extra calories come from fast
food now a day because people don’t have time to cook a healthy meal and it is cheap. Other
causes for obesity are sedentary life styles changes and genetics. Sedentary lifestyles are a big
role in the development of obesity. There has been a big shift in less physically demanding work
to work that relies highly on technological equipment. Also with differences in jobs from
technology there is more technology keeping people inside rather than going outside and getting
the minimal amount of physical activity, which is 150 minutes a week” (Cause). With all the
things you can do on the internet, the hundreds of channels, and video games people are staying
inside rather than going for a walk or playing with friends outside. “There are also interplays
found between the development of obesity and genetic factors. In obesity, there are various
polymorphisms or alterations seen in the genes that control appetite/metabolism. Moreover,
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genetics suggest that there are genes which are known as FTO (Fat Mass and Obesity) genes.
People who possess two copies of these genes have been found to have weight, which is 3-4 kg
more than those who do not have this gene” (Cause). It can also be difficult for women to lose
the weight after having a baby which could lead them to becoming obese. All of these causes are
what is helping fuel the fire which is becoming an epidemic.
My proposal for helping to reduce obesity in America is for Businesses and other places
of work to start a program to give their employees a certain amount of money as a bonus for
every pound they lose. The effects of these programs will probably cost the business at first
because all the employees will be losing weight. But down the road the business will get it
money back from lower medical care cost and more productivity. It could also boost the bonds
between employees by people having better moods and having something the whole work place
can get into.
Eating more calories than you burn, changes in lifestyles, and genetics are a few
things that cause obesity. It is important to know all the causes and effects to a problem to see if
it is worth trying to fix it or what the risks are for changing things.
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Work Cited
"Cause of Obesity." OnlineObesityHelp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr 2012.