America is growing every day. Not land mass, but population mass. Nearly thirty-six percent of all Americans are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Obesity and Overweight”). This number is increasing daily. This condition leads to a myriad of health problems. If Americans do not change their lifestyles, by 2037 there could be more obese and unhealthy Americans than healthy Americans. The percentage of Americans who are obese increased by 21% between 1980 and 2013 (“Prevalence of Overweight”). This equates to an annual increase of 0.62 percent. In 1990, no state in the United States had an obesity rate higher than fifteen percent; in 2010, no state had an obesity rate below twenty percent and nearly a quarter of states had an obesity rate above thirty percent (“Obesity Trends,” 2). Obesity rate percentages between men and women have increased to approximately equal levels. Among American women, those with a college degree are half as likely to be obese. While obesity levels have increased equally across all economic levels in the United States, people in the lowest income brackets are almost twice as likely to become obese (“Adult Obesity Facts”). Obesity is increasingly widespread among our young people. Among children aged six to eleven, the obesity rate increased from seven percent to eighteen percent between 1980 and 2013. Among children aged twelve to nineteen, the obesity rate increased from five to nearly twenty-one percent during the same period (“Childhood Obesity Facts”) The root cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended (“Obesity and Overweight” World Organization health). There has been a marked increase in sugar content in the average American diet. Most processed foods are high in sugar. con...... middle of document ......nization, sd Web. March 2, 2014. “Physical inactivity is a major cause of illness and disability, warns the World Health Organization.” April 4, 2002. Web. March 4, 2014. "Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity among adults: United States, trends from 1960 to 1962 through 2009 to 2010." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. and prevention, September 13, 2012. Web. March 4, 2014. .Schulte, Paul et al. “Work, obesity and occupational safety and health”. National Institute for Public Access to Health. National Institute of Health, nd Web. March 5. 2014. .