Health in America Essay.

The issue of health is recently a much discussed issue in America. Perhaps, the market for health products and services has never been booming as today in America. In comparison to other countries, Americans have the necessary resources to achieve healthy lifestyles—and yet the result is the opposite. Americans are considered to be one of the unhealthiest people in the planet (Farquhar 7). It is important to explore this topic as America is considered to the most influential country in the globe. The unhealthy culture of America should be addressed immediately as other countries might follow America’s example.Health in America Essay.

A proven way to address a problem is to identify the causes and then formulate solutions. The primary reasons for the declining health conditions of Americans are rooted from the American way of life and the US government’s lack of prioritizing healthcare. What are the impacts of the American way of life on the health of American people? According to recent studies, America is the leading country in terms of the average of overweight individuals (Farquhar 7-8). It is very important to note that the American way of life is presently and notoriously much associated with being unhealthy.Health in America Essay.

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It seems that the most notable causes of this predicament are America’s unhealthy diet and unhealthy habits. The American diet has been a favourite material for those writers of health books—books that are now very popular. The American diet is mostly comprised by processed foods and fast foods. According to Farquhar, the American people eat “significantly lesser than they did in 1900, yet despite this decrease in caloric consumption per capita, America weigh more than other nationalities” (Farquhar 80) Ziegler provides us with a convincing reason “the larger portion of their [other nationalities] meals are vegetables and grains.Health in America Essay.

Americans eat typically the reverse… ” (Ziegler 65) Fast foods and processed foods are becoming more and more a staple in the diet of Americans. These kinds of foods are the primary reason why Americans are overweight these days. This claim was irrefutably proven by Morgan Spurlock in his enlightening documentary “Super Size Me. ” Perhaps it is rather ironic to use the term “enlightening” to describe Spurlock’s documentary. The film was mostly about Spurlock’s thirty-day diet plan that is only consisting of foods from McDonald’s.

On a daily basis, he had eaten fast food three times every day. He had tasted all the items in McDonald’s menu and had super sized his meals each time the cashier asks him. (Spurlock) Another aspect of American way life that is also the source for American’s declining health conditions are unhealthy habits. Some of these unhealthy habits are being physically inactive and smoking. According to Farquhar, the average American child watches approximately four hours of television in a daily basis (Farquhar 160). Furthermore, computers are more and more being embedded in the American culture.Health in America Essay.

It seems that the gifts of the modern world are causing Americans to be physically unfit. The American’s time for physical exercise is diminishing day by day (Ziegler 158) Another unhealthy habit of the average American is smoking. The unhealthy habit of smoking is seemingly impossible to eliminate in the American culture. Farquhar provides a reason for the staying power of smoking in the American culture “… the resources allocated to the promotion of smoking continue to outweigh those spent to discourage it” (Farquhar 24) What are the main health care plans of the two main American candidates?

Perhaps as heated as the discussion of health in America, is the discussion of the upcoming 2008 presidential elections. America’s attention is fixated on what the main candidates healthcare plan proposals. And since health is a prevalently discussed topic in America, it can be considered that healthcare plan proposals could make or break presidential candidates. There are two main presidential candidates leading presidential race. They are John McCain, representing the Republican party; and Barrack Obama, representing the Democratic party.

It is noticeable that these two main presidential candidates have similarities and dissimilarities in their healthcare plan proposals. When the issue of healthcare arises, John McCain could be put under scrutiny by some people. He has this history of having some ailments, specifically malignant melanoma, that cannot be neglected. But in 2005, he had dismissed concerns about his health condition and his age in an interview (Meckler). His healthcare plan proposal is much focused on bringing down healthcare costs for the American public.

He had taken into consideration the fact that high costs of healthcare affect all types of American voters. One of the solutions that McCain sees is allowing medications to be imported from the neighbouring country of Canada. It seems like a good solution as prices of medications have been brought down by Canadian government. He also proposed that the uninsured Americans should be provided with insurance. (Meckler) On the other hand, there is the Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama. In contrast to the relatively older McCain, Obama appears to be a better model for health.

He even participated in a basketball game with US soldiers deployed in Africa. But as a critical citizen, is important to ask: whether his good health would also mean he also has a better healthcare plan proposal for Americans? Obama’s healthcare plan proposal had focused much on providing American citizens “universal healthcare”, wherein the coverage of the healthcare is extended to all American citizens. To subsidize the costs of a universal healthcare system, he had also proposed that the cost would be divided between from US government, consumers, and businesses.

This aspect of his healthcare plan proposal could raise some eyebrows, particularly from the business sector. Just like Mccain, Obama is focused on bringing down healthcare costs and expanding coverage. He would also raise the budget for healthcare researches for the purpose of boosting the technology of America’s health industry. He had also considered the uninsured citizens of America, they who suffers the high prices for healthcare services. It is also very notable that Obama had disproved change in lifestyle as the way of improve the health condition of American citizens.Health in America Essay.

He argues that there had been countless attempts of changing the lifestyle to improve health, and yet all these attempts had fallen short. He was focused more on feasible a realistic solutions, specifically some changes in the governement’s approach to the health of Americans. He had admitted that to execute his healthcare plan proposal, a considerable amount is required. Again, the cost would be divided between from US government, consumers, and businesses. (CBS News) How these plans would affect the life of American citizens?

The reason polls tell us that the American public considers healthcare as one of their top concerns. Their decision as communicated by their votes would have the greatest impact in America’s healthcare system and the fate of America as a country for the next few years. Their decision would be largely influenced by their respective needs. It could be that a part of the American public would be benefited by McCain’s proposal of bringing down healthcare costs; and another part of the American public finds Obama’s proposal of universal healthcare as more appealing.

Whatever the American’s decision would be, it could only mean one result for the whole country. It just means that a larger portion of the American public would be benefited with their favoured kind of healthcare. Conclusion America’s declining priority for health is indeed very alarming. Unhealthy characteristics such as high rates of obesity are being embedded into the American way of living deeper and deeper as time passes by.Health in America Essay.

Americans are now waiting on the candidate who will win the presidential elections, with high hopes that that candidate can solve the problem—it is like the Americans are waiting on a knight in shining armour. The popularity of being unhealthy is far from fairy tales. Americans does not need a knight in shining armour, what they need are jumping ropes, more vegetables, and cessation from unhealthy habits. Americans does not need a new president to solve this problem, what they need is a new attitude and approach concerning health.Health in America Essay.