Dear Editors,

My name is Kimberly Stickevers, and I am a 19 year-old college student living in San Ramon, California. Recently, I have gotten more into my health and working out so that I can better take care of my body. I regularly deal with a lot of stomach problems that I believe correlate with the food I eat – so I decided to take a closer look as to what foods I should be consuming. Since I have done so, I’ve started to notice how most of our food in the United States is processed and filled with a lot of chemicals that are harmful to our bodies. While researching, I’ve discovered that the obesity problem in the U.S. is worse than I thought. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “from 1999-2000 through 2017-March 2020, obesity prevalence in the U.S. increased from 30.5% to 41.9%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.” This 11.4% increase of general obesity is significant, particularly because it occurred very suddenly relative to America’s previous obesity trends. The United States needs to make a change. 

Although everyone is responsible for their own diet and what they eat, there’s no denying that the foods we eat are filled with unnecessary and harmful ingredients. According to Environmental Health News, “preservatives, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, and antioxidants can also contain obesity-inducing chemicals.” It was also found that “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not testing food, additives, or packaging for chemicals that cause obesity or disrupt our metabolism.”

Editors, I urge you to stay informed and inform others about this big problem because obesity in the U.S. can open the door to so many other health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, strokes, and can even lead to premature death.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Stickevers