Weight Throughout History

1. Weight Throughout History Karanvir Singh Period 3

2. Thesis: There has been a huge gain in weight in the average American when comparing to the 20thCentury and 18thCentury; therefore causing loss in productivity and loss of money within the United States.

3. Definition: Being excessively overweight • What does it mean to be obese? • Tested through a test called BMI • If the test is higher than 30, one is considered obese, compared to the normal 18.5-24.9.

4. Today’s Society: • 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

5. Comparing the 20th and 21st Centuries One notes how the obesity trends have increased throughout the states in the ten year period.

6. 18th Century • 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.

7. So then why does the twenty-first century have a huge jump in an average American’s weight?(191 lbs for the American man159 lbs for the American woman)

8. Let’s analyze the following from 18th and 20th Centuries: • Sleep • Technology

9. [1] Sleep Research shows that lack of sleep causes increase in weight. It causes a person to eat 300 more calories a day.

10. 18th Century • 70-80 % of Americans were employed in agriculture in 1890 (19th Century.) This is after the Industrial Revolutions and after the decrease in rural Americans. One can only imagine the huge number in the 18th 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 18th Century got enough sleep. • (Not like when the light bulb was invented, and workers would have to work much more.)

11. 20th Century In the 1990’s, the average American spent about 7.8 hours sleeping per day

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

14. Estimated $ Losses due to decreased productivity: • Workdays lost: $39.3 Million • Physician office visits: $62.7 Million • Restricted Activity days: $29.9 Million • Bed-Related days: $89.5 Million

15. [2] Technology

16. Comparing 20th Century with 21st • Increase in use of Video Games • “In 2008, the average American gamer has been playing for 12 years, and is now, on average, 35 years of age.”

17. Comparing 20th Century with 21st

18. Additional Note: • There was no Wii • A number of families own the Wii as it was the 2nd 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

19. 18th Century • No Cars • No longer growing your own food • No longer walking to pick up kids from school • No Computers • No need to walk to the store, or sew own clothes, when they can be ordered online • The average American spends 6 hours a day on a computer • No Phones • No longer need to meet people to communicate • No Television • “Why go do an outside activity when there is full entertainment inside, on the couch.”

20. Comparing Late 18th Century &21st Century’s USE OF TECHNOLOGY AT WORK

21. 18th Century Work: More Active, Even with technology

22. 21st Century: Inactive

23. What is the result of less activity?

24. Medical Expenditures Related to Obesity

25. Money spent because of diseases:

26. QUESTIONS:

27. Has the increase in weight caused a loss of productivity in the US? 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

28. Compare the video of the work in the 18th Century to that of the 21st Century. What is the difference in the work? 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 18th 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 21st Century is because the technology requires a lot less movement, than that of the common work in the late 18th Century.

29. How does the lack of sleep affect a person’s weight? ANSWER: Sleep within the United States has been decreasing since the 18th 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.

30. How would future Americans look if the 21st Century trends in sleep and technology stopped? Continued? 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.

31. Bibliography • Benson, Jonathan. "Why Not Getting Enough Sleep Can Cause You to Gain Weight."      Natural News . N.p., 26 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 May 2011.      <http://www.naturalnews.com/ 031845_sleep_weight_gain.html>. • Bettelheim, Adriel. "Are Americans Eating Themselves to Death." Obesity and      Health : n. pag. Web. 17 May 2011. <http:// library.cqpress.com/      cqresearcher/document.php? id=cqresrre1999011500&type=hitlist&num=1>. • "Body Image Timeline ." The Site . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2011.      <http://www.thesite.org/ healthandwellbeing/wellbeing/ bodyimageandselfesteem/      bodyimagetimeline>. • Frank W. Baker. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.frankwbaker.com/      mediause.htm>. • "Obesity Related Statistics in America ." Get America Fit . N.p., 2008. Web. 13      May 2011. <http:// www.getamericafit.org/       statistics-obesity-in-america.html>. • "Pros and Cons of Wii Fit." Livestrong . Livestrong , n.d. Web. 17 May 2011.      <http:// www.livestrong.com/article/71043- the-pros-cons-wii-fit/>. • Rowen, Beth. "How Americans Spent Their Time in the 90's ." infoplease . N.p.,      16 May 2011. Web. 17 May 2011. <http:// www.infoplease.com/spot/      timeusespot.html>.