1. Introduction.- What does it mean to be obese? When people consume more calories than they burn, their body stores the extra calories as fat.2. Obesity increased significantly in the 1970s due to several factors. After World War II, lawmakers, business and labor leaders, and many ordinary Americans placed mass consumption at the center of their plans for a prosperous postwar nation. The availability of frozen dinners and a variety and surplus of different foods has skyrocketed. In 1977, American dietary guidelines changed dramatically, promoting that our diet was primarily based on carbohydrates. Over the years, the sizes of certain foods and our portion sizes have exploded. Twenty years ago, the average bagel was 3 inches in diameter and contained only 140 calories. Today, the average bagel has doubled in size, now reaching 6 inches in diameter and more than 350 calories. The health problems associated with being overweight go far beyond the ones we usually hear about, like diabetes and heart disease. Being overweight can also affect a person's joints, breathing, sleep, mood, and energy levels. In the United States, 68.5% of adults are overweight or obese, 34.9% fall into the obese category, and 31.8% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, with 16.9% being obese (Overweight and obesity in the United States). Both figuratively and literally, obesity rates are a growing problem. The total economic cost of overweight and obese people in the United States and Canada, caused by medical costs, excess mortality, and disability, is approximately $300 billion per year. Of this sum, $80 billion is due to overweight and around $220 billion to obesity. About 90 percent of the $300 billion total comes from the United States. The Trust for America's Healt... middle of paper ......physical nutritional changes to the NSLP should also be made. It's simple; no more junk food served or allowed to be purchased during school meals. If these proposals were implemented and enforced by the government, the $300 billion spent each year on overweight and obese people could be virtually eliminated. Some lawmakers say limiting what Americans are allowed to buy violates their rights. This is simply not true. The changes would only limit what could be purchased under government programs. If SNAP participants want to purchase foods deemed “unhealthy,” they are perfectly allowed to do so with their own personal income, but not with taxpayer dollars. The same goes for the NSLP program: if the individual wishes to consume unhealthy foods, these foods can be purchased outside of school and brought by the child..