Standard American Diet

Standard American Diet, or S.A.D., is a term used by health food advocates to describe the dietary habits of average Americans. Advocates say the average American eats a diet relatively high in saturated fat, trans fat, chemical additives, refined sugar, and overall calories.

Obesity and the American Diet
The American obesity problem has been growing exponentially in the last thirty years. One of the largest reasons for its increase the increase in driving. In a phenomenon known as urban flight large populations of Americans have moved to the suburbs. The layout of suburban America is much more conducive to driving. “Land-use mix had the strongest association with obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2), with each quartile increase being associated with a 12.2% reduction in the likelihood of obesity across gender and ethnicity. Each additional hour spent in a car per day was associated with a 6% increase in the likelihood of obesity. Conversely, each additional kilometer walked per day was associated with a 4.8% reduction in the likelihood of obesity.” (Frank, 2004) Another reason that Americans are more prone to use cars is that the layout of our cities and suburbs are not conducive to bike riding. European cities have made great efforts to make bike riding a safe way of traveling throughout the city. As a result only 6% of urban travel is done by biking in America where as over 20 and 45% of urban travel is done by bike in European countries. Americans have long been known to have longer work weeks than their European counterparts. The average American’s work week is ten hours longer than an average European’s. This hard working lifestyle often leads to rushed meals, and it is these rushed meals that force Americans to eat quick and unhealthy foods. Lastly, Americans do not put the same kind of emphasis on meals as do many European countries. In countries such as Italy and Spain the importance of the meal is very significant. They are much more careful to use fresh ingredients which are much healthier and also take a much longer time enjoying the meal. When one eats slower it is proven that they only have to eat a fraction of someone who is eating very quickly to feel full. In conclusion it is not just fast food that is making Americans overweight it is the factors the force Americans to eat fast food that is causing this obesity epidemic.