The Way America Eats

When we watch television along with our friends and they begin discussing eating disorders or obesity in the United States, we usually shake our heads and laugh at the stupidity of it all. Of course, we are sitting with a Big Mac in our right hand, a huge bag of fries in the left, and the chocolate shake is stuck between our knees waiting to be consumed We probably have a good chance of being a member of the 65% of Americans who are clinically obese. But still we choose to ignore it.

That is, until we look at some of the facts: – The most common eating disorders are considered to be chronic illnesses that very little are known about, in addition to being misdiagnosed. – In America these major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulima nervosa, and binge eating – all being on the rise worldwide. – More than 90% of people with eating disorders are women. – This number of women has doubled to at least 5 million in the past 3 decades. – Eating disorders are one of the key health issues that affect young women today. – If we would begin to eat healthy, $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost workdays or productivity, and premature deaths would be prevented.

Physical, psychological, and social problems result from eating disorders, with people obsessed with weight gain, inappropriate eating behaviors, and worrying about their body image all the time. In America, over 80% of women are dissatisfied with their bodily appearance. Because of this, depression may occur along with anxiety, substance abuse, heart problems, or mentally ill deaths. About 18.8 million Americans have depression.

Eating disorders occur in 8,000,000 people in the United States whether they are rich or poor with 10 out of 100 of that number being women. Eating disorders usually begin in the teen years with 15% girls and 14% boys. The average American woman is 5'4" and weighs 160 pounds. And where does all that weight come from? Let's look at the eating habits.

In the magazine, Food Technology, in the article "What, When, and Where America Eats" by A. Elizabeth sloan, statistics show that in 2005, 75% Americans ate at home but the number of meals prepared there were only 58%, as compared to 64% in 2003. Dinners made from "scratch" were only 32% of the evening meals: 26% of those meals were made from convenience foods, while 17% used restaurant/supermarket take-out. Restaurant meals accounted for 23% of the meals.

Looking at the "eating out vs eating in" statistics in 2005, Americans were more apt to eat out than stay in, with the consumption of 80 meals per person being eaten at restaurants.