Blog 3 (pg181 #1)

Yves Engler wrote an article called "Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations", in which he blames the capitalist economic system for largely rising obesity rates in America. He mentions the diet industry as one of the biggest of obesity risers. Doctors are prescribing deadly drugs that are used for weight loss. More and more Americans today are turning to plastic surgery to correct there obesity. Somehow spending tons of money on dieting and surgery are okay with Americans today and is accepted. Another point he makes how capitalist economy is serving up obesity is by spending large amounts of money on advertising their products in unfair ways to America. Children are a big target in this advertising by using cartoon characters and catchy songs. Also the food companies are promoting their larger sizes to be filling and not expensive. In the article Engler observes, "as of 1996, a quarter of the $97 billion spent on fast food came from items promoted on the basis of either extra size or larger portions." This means that America today has adapted to larger portion sizes. It is a fact that the more food you have in front of you the more you are going to consume.

Engler supports that, today so many young adults are not involved with sports or physical activity. A reason for this is the cutbacks on budgeting for gym classes or sports in the school systems. There is no one there to motivate them and show them that sports and physical activity is fun and good to be involved with. Also a point he makes is that work in America today is becoming more stressful. Automation is everywhere. This means that the number of hours worked should be reduced, but that is not the case. As Engler says in his article, "in the United States, where people are working 200 hours a year more than they did in the early 1970's." This means that there is no time for leisure activities, and more of a higher stress level. We all know that higher stress levels means higher food intake. Also today, industries have taken over cities in a way to rise obesity rates. They are building houses, fast food, and other industries over top of outskirt fields that could be used to grow vegetables or build parks. The rate of people who walk and ride their bikes has drastically decreased. This is because of unsafe roadways and lack of sidewalks or disconnected sidewalks.

In my opinion Engler is very persuasive in his argument. He pointed out some very good facts that I myself might not have ever realized if it weren't for his article. I can understand his point on how the capitalist economic system plays a major role in obesity rates and I agree with him.