Obesity In America Must Be stopped!! By: Jake

America is obese and we need you to help stop it. America serves “fast food”, which lets McDonalds, Burger King and other greasy restaurants to serve high calorie meals with toys. That is killing kids and adults in this country. They want to keep eating this food, and they don’t live past 30 or 40 (years); this is stunting our population. In these years the obesity rate has increased in the U.S., for example in Missouri from 1985 to 2010 the obesity rate is now over 30% instead of under 20%. Americans need to exercise more, have a calorie limit on “fast food”, stop frying everything we eat and make smaller portions to save ourselves.

Tips on how to prevent obesity:

1) Exercise- 60 minutes a day, a healthy workout with a good diet you will be fit and feel good.

2) No more “fast food”- Prohibit McDonalds and other “fast food” joints from selling meals with 1000 calories or higher; with toys.

3) Eating better- Vegetables instead of fries, grilled instead of fried, the simple choices in life are the most significant ones, which could also keep us alive.

About half of America is obese, 2.6% of the states in the U.S. are 30%+ in obesity rate (13 states). About one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese, and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children are also obese. This is why we (America) have to make better decisions on what we eat. In fast food restaurants, the food has high amounts of calories in their beef, chicken, and fries. The average fast food meal nowadays contains 1,500 calories! Over the last 35 years sales in the US fast food industry has grown by almost 1000%. In 1975 sales equaled $16.1 billion and in 2009 sales were about $160 billion. So while we buy and eat ourselves into obesity the fast food industries are improving. The government should make a calorie limit for fast food restaurants, to keep America healthy.

Do you want to be obese? If so, then don’t read this article. But this is a warning: obesity shortens your life span. This is why obesity in America must be stopped. So make a difference and eat better, exercise and no more “fast food!!!!”

Bullying By: Jake

     1 out of every 7 kids in grades K-12 are either bullied or they are the bully. In a recent study 77% of the students said they had been bullied.14% of those who were bullied said they experienced severe (bad) reactions to the abuse.  1 out of 10 kids drop out of school because of bullying. 30% of U.S. students are involved in moderate of frequent bullying. 160,000 students miss school because of fear of bullying. Bullying leads to violence, yet 75% of bullying and harassment leads to school shootings.1 out of 20 kids have seen another student bring a gun to school and revenge also leads to shootings because victims want revenge on bullies. Playground school bullying statistics, Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. 4% of adult intervene, 11% of Peers intervene, and 85% of people don’t intervention.

Bullying and suicide:

Suicide is the third main reason for death among young people, and this led to 4,400 deaths. At least half of suicide is caused by bullying. In 2005 270 kids between 10 and 14 killed themselves.  Middle-School victims of bullying or cyber bullying  are more likely to commit suicide.

                                    CYBER BULLYING:

20% of students have been cyber bullied in their lifetime. Over 25% of kids are or were cyber bullied through their phone or the internet, and 1 in 3 kids are threatened through cyber-space. Most of the students that are cyber bullied don't report it.