Why Obesity Rates Are High in the US, Mexico, and UK
This paper examines the factors driving high obesity rates in three countries — the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom — through a comparative lens. Drawing on data from the World Health Organization and other sources, it analyzes how industrialization, the shift toward processed and high-carbohydrate diets, income inequality, and cultural attitudes toward food have each contributed to rising obesity. The paper also contrasts these countries with lower-obesity nations such as France and Japan to highlight how cultural practices, food education, and government policy can moderate obesity trends even amid technological and economic development.
- Introduction: Obesity as a Global Phenomenon: WHO data frames obesity as a global, multi-factorial disease
- Obesity in the United States: Rising US obesity rates since 1990 and key drivers
- The Role of Diet, Income, and Culture in American Obesity: Low-fat diet shift, income gaps, and cultural comparisons
- Mexico: Surpassing the United States: Mexico's obesity overtakes US amid poverty and processed food
- The United Kingdom and European Comparisons: UK leads Europe in obesity despite universal healthcare
- Conclusion: Culture, economics, and technology all shape obesity outcomes
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Uses a focused comparative structure — analyzing three high-obesity nations side by side — that keeps the argument clear and organized without becoming diffuse.
- Grounds claims in specific statistics (e.g., state-level CDC data, national obesity percentages) to give the analysis concrete weight.
- Incorporates counter-examples (France, Japan) to strengthen the argument that cultural factors, not just economics or technology, drive obesity differences.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper employs comparative analysis across nations to isolate distinct causal variables. By noting that France and Japan share industrialization and technological development with the US but have lower obesity rates, the author effectively argues that culture and food policy are independent variables — a strong analytical move that moves beyond simple correlation.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a global framing paragraph citing the WHO, then devotes a section each to the US, Mexico, and the UK. Within each country section, the author addresses economic, dietary, and cultural drivers before drawing a brief comparative conclusion. The France school-lunch example in the final section serves as a policy contrast that reinforces the paper's closing argument about cultural influence.
Introduction: Obesity as a Global Phenomenon
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is no longer a disease of affluence. As noted in its 2015 fact sheet on obesity and overweight worldwide, over-nutrition rather than under-nutrition is now linked to a higher percentage of deaths across the globe. Broadly speaking, this phenomenon is associated with the expansion of industrialization and a more Westernized, processed diet, causing a dramatic decrease in caloric expenditure alongside an increase in easily consumed calories from processed foods. Obesity is a multi-factorial disease, linked to changes in "health, agriculture, transport, urban planning, environment, food processing, distribution, marketing and education" ("Obesity and overweight," 2015).
Obesity in the United States
The United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world: 30.6% ("Obesity: Countries compared," 2015). This has caused a great deal of understandable concern in many quarters. How is it possible that such a wealthy and powerful nation has such a high indicator of ill health? To understand the reasons for this requires a careful analysis of the demographic factors behind this percentage.
Obesity rates have been rising since a very specific point in time: "In 1990, not one U.S. state had an obesity rate greater than 14%, according to the CDC… in 2010, 36 states had an obesity rate of at least 25%, with 12 states reporting an obesity rate beyond 30%" (Berl, 2012). This spike coincides with a number of sociological phenomena, including the promotion of a low-fat diet as a method of weight loss, increasing income disparities between the wealthiest and poorest Americans, and changes in culture driven by technology that have decreased physical activity for many Americans.
References
Berl, R. (2012). Why we're so fat. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/08/16/why-were-so-fat-whats-behind-the-latest-obesity-rates
LeBillon, K. (2012). French kids don't get fat. Retrieved from
Mexico obesity rate surpasses the United States', making it fattest country in the Americas. (2013). Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/mexico-obesity_n_3567772.html
Nestle, M. (2004). Did the low-fat diet make us fat? PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/themes/lowfat.html
Obesity: Countries compared. (2015). Nation Master. Retrieved from http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Health/Obesity
Obesity and overweight. (2015). Fact Sheet: WHO. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
Obesity epidemic worse than feared. (2014). The Week. Retrieved from http://www.theweek.co.uk/health-science/56831/obesity-epidemic-worse-feared-why-uk-so-fat
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.