Karanvir Singh Period 3

8 out of 10 people, over the age of 25, are overweight. 70% of cardiovascular diseases relate to being overweight 80% of type II diabetes related to being overweight. #2 cause of preventable death in the United States

One notes how the obesity trends have increased throughout the states in the ten year period.

People wanted to look plump during this period, especially wealthy people. They considered it to be a sign of wealth, and luxury, because they had more food. It also portrayed that they did not have to do labor, like the common man. However, wealthy people consisted of only less than 10% of the population. The majority of the people maintained proper weight because of all the labor involved in farming.

Sleep Technology

70-80 % of Americans were employed in agriculture in 1890 (19 th Century.) This is after the Industrial Revolutions and after the decrease in rural Americans. One can only imagine the huge number in the 18 th Century. This number would be huge compared to today’s 2-3%. Because of all the farming happening, a worker could only work when the sun was out. This is because there was no electricity during this period, and candles would be very inefficient to be used on a huge farm. CONCLUSION: Workers in the 18 th Century got enough sleep. (Not like when the light bulb was invented, and workers would have to work much more.)

By the beginning of the 21 st Century, the average sleep time went down to 7.4 hours, and today, the average American sleeps only 6.9 hours. 12+ hours 7.8 hours 7.4 hours 6.9 hours

Achieve Less Sleep due to work. Weight Gain Want to sleep more now. Productivity goes down $ goes down

There was no Wii –A number of families own the Wii as it was the 2 nd best-selling game console in 2007 –However, to all of those families, according to Livestrong, the Wii burns a lot less calories than going to the gym and health benefits are not proven

QUESTIONS:

ANSWER: The increase in weight has caused a decrease in productivity, which in turn has caused a huge loss of money within the United States. When saying loss of productivity, one must realize that it means physically

ANSWER: The late 1700’s was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, a period where there was a huge influx in technology including inventions (like the Cotton Gin.) However, when looking at the video of workers in the late 18 th Century, the new technology still required a lot of movement. Comparing that to today, businesses involve a lot of computer use which does not have any movement besides that of the fingers. Therefore, one can conclude that one of the reasons for the increase of weight in the 21 st Century is because the technology requires a lot less movement, than that of the common work in the late 18 th Century.

ANSWER: Sleep within the United States has been decreasing since the 18 th Century. It has a huge affect on the way that a person functions, including their eating habits. It causes the average human to consume 300 more calories per day if the recommended 9 hours of sleep does not happen.

ANSWER: If the trends were to stop within the United States, it is probable that the increase in weight will continue to increase. This is because technology and sleep are not the only things that change weight, food is also a big issue, as well as numerous other factors (family life, influence from friends, etc.) However, the conditions would definitely approve. If the conditions were to continue, then I believe that the mortality rate within the U.S. would increase, because as seen in the above, obesity is the second highest in preventable cause of death.

Bibliography Benson, Jonathan. "Why Not Getting Enough Sleep Can Cause You to Gain Weight." Natural News. N.p., 26 Mar Web. 16 May Bettelheim, Adriel. "Are Americans Eating Themselves to Death." Obesity and Health : n. pag. Web. 17 May "Body Image Timeline." The Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May – Frank W. Baker. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May "Obesity Related Statistics in America." Get America Fit. N.p., Web. 13 May "Pros and Cons of Wii Fit." Livestrong. Livestrong, n.d. Web. 17 May Rowen, Beth. "How Americans Spent Their Time in the 90's." infoplease. N.p., 16 May Web. 17 May