...Epidemics in America Since the proclamation by John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, that America should view herself as a "city upon a hill", Americans have strived to create a utopian society (Brinkley, 40). Winthrop viewed America as God's country, a place where the troubles of Europe and the rest of the world would not be repeated. This ideal is still valued by American society, yet it has prevented Americans from accepting the notion that an epidemic could strike their own country. Epidemics in the Modern World by Joann P. Krieg examines American society's reaction to the outbreak of epidemics in this country. Krieg threads the theme of American Romanticism throughout her work, as she explores the reactions of politicians, literary figures, and society in general to the outbreak of disease. Krieg also gives some biological information on the diseases that have haunted the American utopia. While this potpourri of information creates a valuable source for one studying the social effects of disease, its extensive discussion on literary topics becomes long-winded and irrelevant. Krieg explores the outbreak of five American epidemics: smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, TB, and AIDS. While reactions to each were different, Krieg shows that American Romanticism, the notion that "it couldn't happen to us", was prevalent in each of society's reactions to these epidemics. American Romanticism limited the swiftness to which the government, as well...
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...Why is this generation so unhealthy? What is the reason for the insane amount of overweight young adults today? The obesity epidemic is directly affecting young people in America today. This generation is the first to experience growing up with it being “normal” to be overweight because it has become so common. American’s lifestyle has changed and so has eating habits. Many know what needs to be done: eat healthy and exercise. But it can be more difficult than just that. Educating people about how and what to eat plays an important role in this. Many people simply do not know how to eat right, or are unaware of what they are actually consuming. Also, every person has a different body type so different foods and exercise may work more efficiently...
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...Obesity in America Rough Draft Jeremy Stewart ENG 122 English Composition II Instructor: Jennifer Chagala October 02, 2014 Obesity in America It is a shame that more people die in the United States from eating too much food, while in other countries people die from not having enough. Obesity is a rising health epidemic across the nation, and it is a duel responsibility of the government as well as society to do all that they can, starting in the individual home to encourage healthy eating in order to reverse this development and preserve the next generation. Obesity has officially become an epidemic in America. It is debatably one the most noticed public health problems that America faces today. In 2009,...
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...The black plague has killed more than fifty million people. By conservative estimate, that would be one out of every ten American dead. But that was over six hundred years ago in Europe. Today is the modern world and many people have access to quality health care. America has abundance in food, so much so that people are dying from overeating. The scale of which can be considered unprecedented, very much like the black death. Many organization has called obesity an “epidemic” because a staggering one-third of American adult are obese. In a published study by RAND Health, obesity can be considered worse than smoking or poverty due to the magnitude of health problem it causes. People with obesity is linked to more chronic disease such...
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...In the excerpt of Sarah Schulman’s, Gentrification of the Mind, we see the development of the political groundwork made by the Republican Party that led to the widespread unawareness and ignorance of the AIDS epidemic. According to Schulman, the Republican Party set up a system of gentrified thinking designed to ignore the reality of the epidemic. As a result, in the play, Angels and America, by Tony Kushner, we see an underlying pattern of resentment and anger towards the ruling political class in America due to the Republican Party’s ignorance and mishandling of the AIDS epidemic. However, what is gentrified thinking and how does it relate to the problems of the AIDS epidemic in 1980’s America? According to Schulman, gentrified thinking...
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...Research Proposal and Outline Research Proposal - Topic: Eradicating obesity in America. Research Question: What are the solutions to eradicating obesity in America, and who is to blame for this epidemic? Working Thesis: In order to combat the obesity epidemic, government needs to revise farm policies to favor production of healthier foods in abundance, and individual families need to re-establish the connection of the environment to the soil and food supply Research Plan - For research, I will be using the DeVry Library database - EBSCO host search. (http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/Community.aspx?custid=ns123107&authtype=ip&encid=22D731163C4635073776358632253E32385321E33513370331533583&ugt=62E771363C1635273736351632053E7228E361D36513679361E325E338133503&IsAdminMobile=N) I have used information from the following websites in my Position paper Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html Food without Thought: How U.S. Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity available at iatp.org http://www.nffc.net/Learn/Fact%20Sheets/Obesity%20and%20Ag.pdf A Natural Solution to the Obesity Epidemic http://primaldocs.com/opinion/a-natural-solution-to-the-obesity-epidemic/ Other research sources will be added as the work progresses. Research outline 1. The introduction will explain the epidemic state of Obesity in America discussing the statistics of obesity among children, teenagers, and adults. I will further...
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...Presentation on obesity in the USA Good morning everyone. During my stay here in America I have observed the habits of Americans in relation to foods and activity. Obesity is a big problem especially here in the USA. The American population are getting bigger and bigger and the obesity epidemic in the USA has grown over these past fifty years, which cost the USA $150 billion annually. America is a country, were everything is big: the cars, the houses, the menus on the restaurants and the people. One out of three adults in America are obese while one out of six children are obese. The obesity epidemic has grown but which factors have had an influence on the obesity epidemic? And which preventive measures have the companies, communities, schools and the First Lady done to prevent the obesity epidemic to grow even further? One contributing factor of the obesity epidemic is the fact that the eating habits have been changing over the last fifty years. Americans are more addictive to eat out instead of preparing healthy food at home and they continue eating unhealthy food although it may contribute diabetes, cancer and heart diseases. How come the obesity epidemic grown so fast and getting out of control? How come the parents feeding their children with processed foods with higher sugar, fat and calories - Is it the children who decide what to eat? Children are acting on their instincts and if they see an advertising on the TV for McDonalds with the Ronald McDonald clown and...
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...There is an epidemic in America and it is called “Childhood Obesity.” “Obese,” from the Latin word “obesus,” means “grow fat by eating.” (Dalton, 2004) This term’s origin suggests that overeating is the major cause of the obesity epidemic. Teaching obese children to eat less is essential. But modifying behavior is no simple task, and eating too much is not the sole cause of obesity. Other factors play a role and must be understood in order to reverse this epidemic and produce healthier children. The growing number of obese children in America are victims of an epidemic just as surely as if they were infected by a virus. Americans tend to think of an epidemic as an outbreak of a contagious illness. But to physicians the sudden increase in obesity rates that have occurred in the twentieth century is every bit as unexpected as an outbreak of a new infectious disease and has triggered an alarm that might greet the rising of polio. Julie Gerberding, the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the fall of 2003, declared obesity the number one health threat facing America. (Okie, 2005) The causes (nature) of this epidemic are complex and include genetic, biological and behavioral factors. These include, but are not limited to poor eating habits, overeating, the lack of exercise, family history of obesity, cardiac, endocrine or neurological problems, life changing events or stress, along with family or peer problems and low self-esteem or emotional...
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...University Abstract The problem of obesity in America has risen to epidemic levels. Congress in 2002 charged the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to find ways to prevent this epidemic. The IOM appointed nineteen experts to handle this issue, experts in health, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, and public health. It has been determined that it is not just up to Congress but also the individual. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity:" 2005). This paper will take a look at how the affluence of America plays a part in this epidemic. (I.O.M 2004). America's Affluence and Obesity America’s Affluence and Obesity Since the beginning of America, folks have lived off the land. Vegetables, fruits were grown on lands free from pesticides and fertilizers. Animals used for food were allowed to eat what the land offered. People grew vegetable gardens, and traded with each other. They made their own preserves, from fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh foods were in great abundance and there was very little waste. Then there came an educated generation that had no use or respect for the land. New Generation This new educated generation, felt they were much too educated to work the land, they went after the dollar, it became all about making money. Money to buy bigger houses, bigger cars, lusting the glamour, and glitter of Hollywood. The world became aware of what America was experiencing and wanted to be a part of it. America being the hospitable country it is opened its doors to...
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...America is a fat country and that is a fact. One third of adults and roughly 12.7 million children are obese in the United States of America ("Overweight & Obesity.", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015). Furthermore, the numbers of obese people are rapidly rising at an alarming rate. America’s excessive food consumption and lack of exercise is catapulting the obesity epidemic in America to reach new heights. The word “obese” describes an individual who has too much body fat in which 25 percent of the body weight is from fat (Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions 2012). On the other hand, obesity is a condition in which the body has accumulated too much fat. This condition occurs when there is excessive...
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...public's attention. The rights that existed, or for better use of words, did not exist for homosexual men will be discussed, not only in the state of New York, but across America and how it affected the gay community in New York. The lives of homosexual men were highly scrutinized and judged during the time of the rapid rise of the AIDS epidemic during the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Societal view also affected particular rights and liberties for homosexual men due to the fact that the government during this time period was the conservative Republicans. Many...
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...5 Final Paper Childhood Obesity Childcare Programs Fighting the Epidemic https://hwguiders.com/downloads/gen-499-week-5-final-paper-childhood-obesity-childcare-programs-fighting-the-epidemic GEN 499 Week 5 Final Paper Childhood Obesity Childcare Programs Fighting the Epidemic Childhood Obesity – Childcare Programs Fighting the Epidemic First Lady Michelle Obama opened the Let’s Move campaign in 2010 by telling us that “Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese” (Let’s Move, n.d.). Rates of childhood obesity continue to rise in the United States. The percentage of young children ages 6–11 years in the United States who was 18% in 2012from 7% in 1980. Additionally, the percentage of pre-teen and teenagers ages 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. (CDC, n.d.) Even among infants, toddlers and preschoolers the prevalence of obesity is alarmingly high. A large percentage of children ages six weeks old to eleven years old are enrolled in some sort of a child care program, and the amount of time children spend in child care programs each week has increased over the years. Even though parents are ultimately responsible for their children not educators, early childhood educators have the unique position and ability to help reduce the childhood obesity epidemic because early childhood educators spend large amounts of time with...
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...Research suggests obesity in America is an epidemic because of people’s diet, lifestyle, and genetic inheritance. Obesity is a chronic disease that can and will seriously affect one’s health. Health professionals agree that obesity has now reached epidemic status in our country. Over one third of American adults are obese. Obesity also affects children and is more prevalent now than in previous years. And the numbers are increasing. Diet and nutrition play a major role in the United States epidemic of obesity. Although it is very complex especially when Americans are sent mixed messages on what to eat and how much they should eat. On one hand, you have packaged processed food, bigger portions and fast food meals that are marketed as all American. The food is delicious and filling but fast and cheap. On the other hand, Americans spend almost twenty billion dollars every year on the newest weight loss fads, from weight loss drugs to books on the newest weight loss diet to weight loss surgeries like gastric bypass, lap-bands and Hollywood’s favorite, liposuction. Everyone is looking for everything fast. Fast-food, and fast weight loss options. We spend more time at work to pay for all the fast stuff in our lives instead of spending time at home and in our own kitchens cooking nutritious meals for our whole family like our parents did fifty years ago. (Overeaters Anonymous, 1980) This crazy relationship Americans have with food is easy to explain in terms of schemes in marketing...
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...Malaia Simms 2/14/14 Pd. 9 Mrs. Hatlen Dear The Federal Government of Untied States of America, My Name is Betty Johnson and I am 30 years old. I am writing to you because I am very concerned with the future of the citizens in this country. Throughout my life poverty has been Americas "Darkest Secret". I never Really hear news Reports on the growing percentage of Americans living in poverty, or the ways the government is trying to fix this issue. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan where more than a third of residents live below the poverty line (Sasha Abramsky, "America's Shameful Poverty Stats"). Throughout my childhood I have watched many friends' families struggle financially. Sometimes my friends would go without eating for a couple of days simply because they could not afford it. I would offer them food but they would kindly decline because they were so embarrassed because of their situation. They would wear clothes that wouldn't fit them because they couldn't afford to buy new clothes. They would miss school to watch their little siblings because their mom was a single parent and had to work all day everyday just so she could feed them. They didn't even apply to college because they knew they had to immediately pick up a crapy job so they could help their mom pay the bills. The list goes on. All of this is happening under your supervision and it doesn't seem like much is affectively fixing this issue. America's lowest percentage of citizens...
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...it when they were pregnant, which had effects on the child and their learning abilities. The effect on the crack epidemic in the 80s helped the youth of today, to make better choices in life concerning this addictive drug. Crack, was highly-addictive and swept through plenty areas of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Miami. In the end it caused devastating effects for black and Latino Americans. As crack cocaine was becoming popular and rising epidemic, hip hop was evolving alongside it. It was in the 1980s that crack cocaine and hip hop became the two leading fundamentals of urban street culture. It is not suggested that hip hop caused the crack epidemic, or vice versa. But, it can be argued that both fed off each other, particularly hip hop off the crack culture itself. Crack cocaine quickly gained popularity among users in the 1980s due to its cheap cost, and the quick, intense high it left. Compared to freebase cocaine, which involved a complicated ritual involving Ether, crack cocaine had become simplistic and easier to manage. The drug was “made from powder cocaine, it was safer to make than freebase cocaine”. As crack and dope became parts of our neighborhoods, they started to have an impression on our culture through music and television. Epidemics are always a great time to remind America that racism still exists. For example, epidemics happen to everybody but white people. The holocaust happened to the Jews, HIV happened to homosexuals (although...
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