Derek Cedeno Mina
Professor Siegelski
English 170
05 March 2023

Improving Health and Diet and Preventing Diseases

According to the “Center for Science in the Public Interest,” it states “Unhealthy diet contributes to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the U.S., due to nutrition- and obesity-related diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.” People’s health has been a major recurring issue within society, as people’s health is usually affected negatively based on the unhealthy food choices and unhealthy toxins people choose to consume. Over many years the level of concern for obesity rates and future potential health diseases has increased drastically in the country. Some significant reasons for this are, the exposure to fast food restaurants, food deserts, not being able to afford healthy organic foods, and lack of self-care and exercising to stay healthy and in shape to prevent future health problems. Whether you are exposed to only unhealthy foods to keep healthy and avoid health diseases the human body requires the right care. The idea of society trying to improve health by having a healthy diet and consuming the right foods and nutrients is a major issue that isn’t looked upon enough in the country which is causing a major increase in disease and the reason for major health problems. There are many ways to prevent major health problems by living healthier such as avoiding fast food, eating the right nutrients, exercising, and budgeting so you are able to afford organic foods.

As it may seem very difficult to live healthily and be able to have access to the required resources to be able to live healthier there is always a way to work around these obstacles to live healthier. Ron Finley is a prime example of someone making an effort to try to work on living healthier. Ron started an organization within his community in south Los Angeles where he would plant a food forest in front of his house. Ron and his group planted vegetables, fruits, and other healthy and organic foods to prevent food deserts which are areas where it is hard to find organic healthy foods at an affordable price. Ron later mentions “L.A. leads the United States in vacant lots that the city actually owns. They own 26 square miles of vacant lots. That’s 20 Central Parks. That’s enough space to plant 725 million tomato plants” trying to show that with all the available space and area it is possible to start making your own food forest for almost at a minimum amount. All that would be required are tools to plant the right fruits and vegetables and the seeds to grow the actual plants. Ron Finley’s idea is beneficial to people all over the country as it promotes the idea that people should plant organic fruits and vegetables to be able to eat healthier and make a change to prevent people from leaning toward the fast food option and other unhealthy foods. Ron Finley’s purpose is also meant to help people in his community to avoid fast food restaurants as it is proven to cause major health diseases. In the movie “Super Size Me” actor and director Morgan Spurlock conducted an experiment on himself by eating Mcdonald’s every day three times a day for a whole month. The experiment drew the attention of people all across the world because it revealed how unhealthy and all the side effects of eating fast food daily. In the movie “Super Size Me” on day two of Spurlock’s experiment, he orders a meal from the drive-thru and super sizes his meal as he is required to. On the twenty-third minute of the movie, after Morgan finishes his meal he states “I’m dying” which then he proceeds to then throw up tons of food that he has eaten from the Mcdonald’s meal he ate for lunch. Morgan Spurlock then realizes that his one-month experiment of eating McDonald’s every day three times a day is going to be rough. Spurlock later mentions that he is developing constant pain in his stomach from eating so much McDonald’s within the first four days of his experiment. The movie “Super Size Me” is meant to show how although fast food may seem very appealing and easier to buy and consume, it will eventually cause sicknesses and many different health problems as eating fast food isn’t a healthy way to eat and fulfill your hunger. Spurlock is shown to develop many health problems such as many intestinal issues and other liver problems. This movie is meant to signify that eating fast food will also cause similar issues to arise when eating too much of it. To live better and healthier avoiding fast food would be beneficial for your own health as it can prevent many health problems in the future.

Although fast food is a major reason for many health problems and health diseases there are many ways to prevent all these health problems. A way you can prevent health problems is by staying in shape and exercising. Exercising is a great way to avoid obesity as it works out muscles and gets your heart racing and helps burn calories that you consume. Young African American girls in the United States are at high risk of obesity due to exposure to unhealthy diets. A program called “The Butterfly Girls and the Quest for Founder’s Rock” is an online program that promotes healthy diets and exercising and many physical activities. According to the project’s protocol, it states “The program promotes healthy diet and physical activity and is specifically designed for 8–10 year old African American girls” signifying that this program is meant to help younger African American girls that are more exposed to an unhealthier lifestyle to help them stay in shape and healthy at a young age and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Developing a habit in working out, exercising and staying in shape at a young age is very important because gets children used to living a healthy lifestyle and keeps them away from having to deal with future major health problems that may be caused due to an unhealthy diet. Exercising contributes to eating healthy and makes it easier to stay in shape and stay healthy. Exercising is encouraged greatly by author Michael Gregor in his book “How Not to Die” which is about learning to live a healthy life and make the right decisions to survive. In the brook, Gregor states on page sixteen “The truth is that adhering to just four simple healthy lifestyle factors can have a strong impact on the prevention of chronic diseases: not smoking, not being obese, getting a half hour of exercise a day, and eating healthier—defined as consuming more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less meat. Those four factors alone were found to account or 78 percent of chronic disease risk.” These statistics are crazy to think about, almost eighty percent of most chronic diseases are caused by not having a healthy diet and not exercising properly. It proves that overall living healthy is easy when you consume the right nutrients and are able to exercise and learn how to have self-care by working on your health and maintaining a diet and drive to stay healthy. On page twenty four Gregor mentions “Eating healthier is easier than you think, it’s inexpensive, and it might just save your life.” Eating healthy is very inexpensive as there are many ways to have access to organic foods. Ron Finley was able to prove that when he introduced his plan in planting vegetables and fruits in areas that are free like vacant lots and any area where it is possible to plant food forests.

Works Cited

“Why Good Nutrition Is Important.” Center for Science in the Public Interest, 17 May 2018,
www.cspinet.org/eating-healthy/why-good-nutrition-important.

Finley, Ron, director. A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA. YouTube, TED Talk, 6 Mar.
2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

Spurlock, Morgan, director. Super Size Me. Documentary Mania, 1 Jan. 1970,
https://www.documentarymania.com/video/Super%20Size%20Me/. Accessed 25 Feb.
2023.

Thompson, Debbe, et al. “Butterfly Girls; Promoting Healthy Diet and Physical Activity to
Young African American Girls Online: Rationale and Design.” BMC Public Health, vol.
13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 709–709, https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-709.

Greger, Michael. How Not to Die. Pan Books, 2018.