Commentary Draft

I am beginning my second year here at UCF, so it is my second year of living on my own and doing things like regularly shopping at Publix for myself. One thing I have often observed there is that there is a large percentage of people who are overweight or out of shape physically. I have read in the papers about the trend in this country of more people being overweight, and when I shop for food each week, I see many of these people. Sometimes I can even hear their uneven and laborious breathing. The foods I see in their carts make me feel that they are not concerned as much as they should be with their health and fitness. There is so much attention given these days to health care and health insurance, but there should be more emphasis on people taking care of themselves to stay fitter and healthier. That would be the best way to keep the costs of health care down. It looks to me that many people just don’t care enough. It reminds me of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. I feel that they should at least be aware of their situation, and try to become healthier by eating better and exercising. Each year at least 1.9 million people die as a result of physical inactivity, making inactivity one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide.

Even on the UCF campus, where students are younger and have had less time for unhealthy habits to affect them, I see this unhealthy trend of poor eating and lack of exercise beginning for some. On the other hand, on campus and off campus, there are at least a number of people who have recognized this negative trend, and are consciously trying to take the healthier approach. I have always been involved in athletics, and for the last few years, I spend much time in the gym (here at the Wellness Center). It is important to me to exercise regularly and to maintain a healthy diet. While too many people do not take enough responsibility for their health, luckily there are many others who feel the way that I do, see the trend towards an unhealthy lifestyle, and are taking the correct steps to reverse it.

The college student of the present day is surrounded by a wealth of technology and automation, perpetuated by the large worldwide shift towards less physically demanding work. This has clearly begun to take a toll on public health, leading to statistics like 66% of the country being overweight (34%, obese). As I walk around campus, I see the majority of people choosing modes of transportation that require the least amount of physical energy on their part. This includes taking the bus or a car to short distances around the campus, and taking elevators instead of walking the stairs, even if it’s just a couple of flights. People have been given the luxuries of a technologically driven society and that is one of the key components to the amount of Americans who are out of shape these days. I believe that it’s the mere availability of these kinds of luxuries that have ultimately contributed to the deconditioned state of most of the country.

As well as industrialization and sedentary lifestyles being a cause of the unhealthy circumstance of the country, dietary habits and the lack of sufficient nutrition could be one of the most vital and biggest national challenges currently at hand. Around campus, I see so many places to eat that serve food that seems to help along this growing trend of being overweight and not concerning yourself with your state of physical health. In the United States, consumption of fast food has tripled and calorie intake from fast food quadrupled between 1977 and 1995. It seems like business establishments like fast food places will never go out of business, or get negatively affected by these statistics because of the incredible amount of money they make off the concept of Americans not watching what they eat.

Not only am I overwhelmed with these facts as I walk through campus from day-to-day, but as a personal trainer and someone who spends everyday in the gym, I get an intimate look at how people who are obese or out of shape view themselves and the growing health problem in the country. Right now, we are in an economic recession as well as an age of reform, and many people are in a phase where they feel they must get into good shape. My profession allows me to be in a position where I can communicate with many people of all different kinds of physical conditions, and get a better feel for the public approach to physical reform and the overall perspective from potential clientele. Even at the UCF wellness center, I can converse with people who are aware of what they eat and do exercise on a regular basis, as well as those who are currently not in good physical shape, but are taking measures to change that. Being involved in the vocation of getting people into shape has helped me become much more concerned with not only my own physical state, but as well as that of the country’s.