Casual Analysis Essay

Causal Analysis Essay Task #3

Gayla Lynch

Western Governor’s University

WGU Student ID: #000510536

Causal Analysis Essay Task #3

One half of the states in the United States have obesity rates that have risen above 30%.

Arkansas ranks first in this list and southern states make up the majority of the top ten, with four southern states leading in each of the following categories: hypertension, type 2 diabetes, lack of exercise, and the consumption of less than 1 serving per day of fruits and vegetables (Stateofobesity.org, 2015). These same four southern states also top the list of the poorest states in America according to Forbes (forbes.com, 2015).

While Arkansas leads the way in obesity percentage, West Virginia has the highest rates of obesity related diseases like hypertension and Type 2 diabetes and Mississippi comes in first in lack of exercise, daily consumption of less than 1 serving of fruits and vegetables and lowest income. What are the contributing factors for the rise in obesity in the United States? Poor diet choices, lack of exercise and medical issues are the primary issues that come to mind, but income or the lack of income is certainly a mitigating factor in all of these instances. While not trivializing the potential medical issues that can affect weight gain, both eating habits and exercise are much larger components in this fight against obesity. Income can greatly affect both eating and exercise habits. Obesity is a growing problem in the U.S. today, caused by poor diet, low income and lack of exercise.

Poor diet is a major component of the increase in obesity. Busy lifestyles have led to an increase in consumption of fast food and pre-packaged prepared meals, both of which have large amounts of sodium, sugars, trans-fats and carbohydrates in them. This hectic lifestyle increases the consumption of snack foods that are usually high in fat and also promotes poor choices in the timing of meals, as many times people...