Student: Sbraletta Matosinhos, Bruno
Why a western diet is unhealthy and what people should eat to be healthy
In recent years, the concern for health is increasing. The main factors contributing to the declining levels of health in the Western world are a lack of physical exercise, paired with an unhealthy diet. Although this sounds like a simple problem to fix, the vast majority of people are not actually aware of the dangers of a poor diet. This essay will explain why a western diet is unhealthy and suggest ways that people can maintain a healthy lifestyle.
There are several health disadvantages that a Western diet can cause. First and foremost is that the consumption of excessive calories often leads to obesity Agarwal (2008) reports that the USA has the highest daily consumption of calories per capita in the world, with 3770 calories consumed per person per day. According to Kemp, Paul and Segal (2001-10), a western diet contains a lot of sugar, which of course means more calories. To illustrate, 10 teaspoons of sugar are found in one cup of concentrated fruit juice. The typical diet in the USA has lead to sixty-five percent of people twenty years and older being obese, and this number is increasing (Agarwal 2008). Secondly, a typical Western diet is often high in unhealthy fats. Many standard Western foods such as red meat and dairy products contain a large amount of saturated fats. On top of this, processed foods such as margarines, candy and cookies are high in trans-fats (Kemp, Paul and Segal 2001-10). Moreover, Agarwal (2008) affirms that consuming large amounts of unhealthy fats is strongly linked with heart disease. To illustrate, 38.5% of Americans deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease with a further 65 million people living with this disease. According to a major scientific study called the Seven Countries Study, out of 6000 recorded deaths,